3D technology has many practical uses. The technology has found a new audience in recent years, and its surge in popularity has introduced 3D displays into consumer products like monitors and TVs. The concept of 3D printing has finally become a reality and the first wave of models have recently been released to the consumer market. However, perhaps the most functional and widely used application of 3D technology is 3D scanning. The ability to capture three dimensional data is widely used in many different types of industrial, commercial and scientific sectors, and it too could be introduced for use in the home.
What is 3D Scanning?
3D scanners capture real-world objects and reproduce them digitally. Unlike conventional scanners, these digital captures are three dimensional as 3D scanners can collect the complete spatial properties of an object. The scanned 3D models can then be manipulated and handled digitally.
How Does the Technology Work?
There are several different technologies that are used for 3D scanning. Contact 3D scanners physically probe and touch objects to completely capture their size, surface details, depth and other details. Although this method is very precise, contact scanners can be slow to operate and the intrusive nature of contact scanning means they are impractical for scanning some objects, particularly delicate ones. For these reasons, non-contact 3D scanners are more widely used.
The most common form of 3D scanning uses lasers to digitally map objects. Time-of-flight scanners use pulses of light to measure objects. These scanners have built-in detectors which time how long it takes for the pulses of light to travel around an object, and they can measure thousands of different points each second. This information is then used to build a complete model of the scanned object. Another method of 3D scanning uses triangulation to bounce lasers off objects. Similar to time-of-flight scanners, triangulation measures the distance between the scanner and the object being scanned. Triangulation scanning has limited range but it can measure the minute, intrinsic details of an object with micrometre accuracy. Time-of-flight scanning is typically less accurate, but it is capable of measuring huge objects from long distances.
3D scanning can also capture and visualise internal properties by passing emissions through a scanned object. X-rays, ultrasounds and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans are examples of 3D scanning which use passive techniques to see inside scanned objects.
How is it Used?
3D scanning has many different applications. Short-range scanners capable of measuring intricate, detailed objects are used extensively in engineering fields to reproduce components and even reverse engineer technologies which do not have their original specifications or building instructions. Medical sciences use the technology to create internal images and diagnose the unseen complications of patients. The ability to create 3D models has also been used to share and disseminate information and data. For example, archaeologists can scan an ancient, delicate artefact and send the highly detailed 3D model to be investigated and inspected by colleagues around the world. Similarly, highly detailed specifications and plans of a mechanical component or piece of machinery can be recreated with a 3D scan of the object.