3D scanning technology is nothing new. Ever since ultrasound machines became common on hospital maternity wards, 3D scanning has been around us in one form or another on a constant basis. There are numerous ways that businesses have managed to monetize this technology. Here are just five ways that 3D scanning benefits businesses.
Save Time Designing
Building detailed realistic 3D models from scratch is a time-consuming and difficult process. On the other hand, a 3D scanner can be used to scan an existing 3D structure and render a detailed model of it. A 3D artist can then tweak this scan if necessary and save a considerable amount of time and money, reducing the complexity of the design process significantly.
Speed Up Your Prototyping Process
Once you have a working prototype of your product, you can use 3D scanning to take a snapshot of each component. When the time comes to refine your design for the next phase of the testing process, you can tweak your existing 3D model instead of having to build a new one from scratch.
Fast and Comprehensive Quality Control
One of the biggest challenges for manufacturers is always going to be quality control. It doesn’t matter how fast you can manufacture products if you don’t have any way of checking whether they have been produced correctly or whether there are defects present. For any business, a defective product represents lost revenue and wasted resources. However, in some cases, the implications of a defective product can be much more severe, perhaps even life-threatening.
For example, in the aerospace industry, components need to be manufactured to a very high degree of accuracy. Any deviations from the intended measurements can have catastrophic consequences. This is also true when it comes to medical devices that are designed for internal use.
But with 3D scanning, building a high-resolution scan that instantly shows up any defects is a simple process. In some scenarios, 3D scanning speeds up the process dramatically.
Quickly Map Environments In Detail
One of the most common applications of 3D scanning is within the construction and manufacturing industries, where 3D scanning makes it quick and relatively cheap to build detailed 3D maps of environments.
Create Models To 3D Print
The proliferation of portable 3D scanners like the Artec Eva means that even small businesses can now take advantage of 3D scanning. 3D scanners, like regular scanners, need to be paired with either rendering software or a 3D printer in order to use them to their full potential. Using a 3D scanner to produce an accurate and detailed map of a 3D object makes it easy to then duplicate that object’s shape with a 3D printer. This can be used to reproduce components at a fraction of the cost.
As time goes on, 3D scanning is only becoming more accessible. It seems inevitable that we will see it being used in an even wide range of contexts in the not too distant future. This is definitely a technology worth watching.
