Software Improves Workflow, Quality Of Laser Scanner

Available from Faro Technologies, Faro Scene v4.1 is the latest version of the software for viewing, administrating, calibrating, filtering and managing large, 3D point clouds collected with the company’s Laser Scanner LS. The scanner is a portable, computerized measurement device that scans, digitally recreates and records an object’s dimensions to create a 3D “photograph” on a computer screen. The captured data can be used to create a digital model for inspection, reverse engineering, CAD-to-part comparison, factory planning and more. According to the company, the software provides the scanner with faster workflow and improved quality. One enhancement in the new version is a Wi-Fi/WLAN scanner connection, which enables the user to control scanning from a PDA, mobile phone, laptop or other internet-equipped devices. It features advanced noise reduction for cleaner scans; 2 to 3 minute color capture speed and automatic overlays of 50 million color pixels; and fully automatic color scan white balancing for improved contrast and clarity. A new color bracket and calibration method is designed to reduce parallax errors and maximize the fit of color on 3D shapes. Compatible with Nikon D70 or D200 cameras for color scanning, the software has an automatic filter action designed to improve scan quality and shorten postprocessing time. In addition, a draw-to-CAD feature enables users to create 3D autocad drawings by sketching lines in the software’s photo view. Users can also import CAD files in both VRML2 and VRML1.