LAS VEGAS, NV (Autodesk University 2014) — 3D scanning and capture was maybe the hottest topic at this year’s Autodesk University, taking up considerable portions of the keynote speeches and floor space in the partner expo.
Autodesk has faith in the numbers. 3D scanning projected to be a $4B market by 2018
The show floor was abuzz with 3D scanning and capture products and services, including established companies and start-ups that recognized the need to add 3D scan and capture services.
Autodesk had a special booth that was hard pressed to hold all the companies that wanted to exhibit.
A few notable products are listed below.
Spike by ike Turns Your Tablet Into a Super Rangefinder
The Spike device is a laser rangefinder that mounts on smart phone or tablet with adhesive strips and connects via Bluetooth to provide measurement capabilities par excellence, including area calculations.
You can do this with ordinary range finders, but a tablet will provide a much larger viewer and, combined with the tablet’s GPS, the Spike can place the building being measured precisely on a map. Should you require additional measurements but are back in the office, Spike lets you create new measurements of the photo that was captured.
The device costs $619, though Stanley has a version of it for $299.
More information at http://www.ikegps.com/
threeRivers 3D Delivers
Unlike the start-ups in Autodesk’s booth, threeRivers 3D has been scanning and capturing 3D for years. They can sell you a black box with a turntable and a handle (which may contain a Minolta 3D scanner but threeRivers 3D has added patented LaserCode technology).
Your object sits on the turntable which rotates the object in front of the scanner. This results in less scanning time and a more uniform scan than the alternative method, which is to “paint” an object with a handheld device as you rotate around the object. The system has a 6x9-inch field of view so it can accommodate machined parts as shown below, though the company states its systems have found homes among medical (dental and foot orthotics) industries.
From the threeRivers 3D extensive gallery of projects.
More information http://www.3rivers3d.com
Germany's Cultlab3D had what may have been the most elaborate setup -- and probably the most expensive way -- to scan a small object. Cultlab3D is intended for museum artifacts, which, if priceless, might make the cost of this machine bearable. Not surprisingly, no price tag was found on this device.
Just to clarify, the 3Rivers3D scanners do NOT use Konica Minolta Technology. The KM Virtuoso scanner was actually a 3R3D scanner inside not the other way around. The scanner debuted at AU is a new technology, 100% 3R3D.
Posted by: Mike Formica | February 03, 2015 at 07:48 AM