If there’s one constant in the history of computer technology and metrology solutions it’s the steady progression to faster, smaller, portable and accurate devices. For instance, in the 1980s mainframes were still room-sized, energy-guzzling behemoths, with processing power and data storage capabilities leagues behind today’s most no-frills mobile phone.
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Likewise, manufacturing has experienced a similar shift toward smaller, portable, and handheld measuring devices for a variety of factory floor requirements, improving throughput through faster processes. This article explores handheld 3D scanning and the impacts new technologies like it have on smart manufacturing.
As digital technology has advanced, traditional coordinate measuring machines (CMM) have given rise to portable scanning and probing with tools like the FARO® Quantum X or the Gage Max arms. Not as a replacement, but as an add-on; an additional tool in the toolbox to help manufacturers of all stripes get their respective jobs done right.
Today, the forefront of this ever-upward advance rests with handheld scanning.
Why? Because when combined with already formidable hardware and software, like CMMs and portable CMMs, modern handheld scanning devices can help further accelerate processes, reduce bottlenecks, save time and money, and above all, better enable the smart(er) factory of tomorrow.
Handheld scanning, as the name implies, is the process of scanning a part, surface, assembly or subassembly, as well as the tools involved with making the part to measure its physical dimensions. These actions ensure parts align and fit together to form a complete product, a necessary step in quality assurance and quality control.
Typically, an operator will in a steady methodical motion, pass the scanner over the part(s) they wish to measure.
Audio or visual cues will alert the operator that a scan is complete. Often positional targets are placed on the part(s) in question to assist with the accuracy of the scan, as well as improve later point cloud registration.
Smart Manufacturing is a term that’s grown in usage since the 1990s and often dovetails with what’s often termed “industry 4.0.” It speaks to the increasing degree to which computers and automated systems augment the manufacturing process.
While CMMs and portable CMMs all represent elements of smart technology, what sets the smart factory apart is the degree to which multiple machines can communicate and share data with each other – largely independent of a human operator.
Today, the smart factory is more than a buzz phrase; it’s reality. In fact, according to a recent National Association of Manufacturers report, more than half of respondents (53%) say their plants and factories are “getting smarter” and nearly half (49%) expect partially or fully autonomous factories in the future.
These stats underscore a secondary truth: that smart manufacturing is an evolving process – a process of automation and digitalisation that now includes cloud-computing, where real-time data is stored and shared between machines and their human operators.
It’s also a state of automation in manufacturing that includes digital replicas of said factories where both machines and their physical placement on the factory floor can be optimised through digital twins. Last, it’s about equipping machines with sensors (IoT) that can monitor the safety and alignment of these tools and perform predictive maintenance, alerting human operators to a potential breakdown before it occurs—humans working side by side with ever-growing technology to find the competitive advantages of modern day manufacturing.
Handheld 3D scanning is a vital interlink between this human and automated synergy. By its nature, handheld scanning enables human operators to scan on-the-go. This includes first article inspection of a finished product off the assembly line. As well as inspecting the machines making the parts.
While machines are great at following preset programs, they don’t improvise well. Nor are even the most portable machines as locomotion gifted as a human on two legs with two arms and two hands with opposable digits. Equipped with a handheld 3D scanning device, their mobility and ease of use make them ideal for real-time quality control, additive manufacturing reverse engineering, and predictive maintenance tasks.
The FARO tool best suited for such tasks includes the FARO® Leap ST® Handheld 3D Scanner, an advanced handheld 3D metrology solution. Designed as a compact, high accuracy scanner with five operating modes, Leap ST offers versatility and portability that benefits various workflows and industries, from aerospace and automotive to transportation equipment and metals fabrication and more.
Ultra-fast Scanning: This primary mode leverages 34 crossed lasers to quickly medium to large-sized parts, such as a car door. Depending on the complexity and level of detail required Leap can switch to specialised modes like deep hole or hyper-fine scanning to focus more closely on specific areas that require extra attention.
Hyper fine Scanning: In this mode, 7 parallel lasers operate at a close standoff distance to achieve the highest possible point density. The hyper-fine scanning mode captures intricate details in part features that ultra-fast scanning may miss, requiring a careful selection of areas to scan. This is essential to managing file sizes, as scanning at a higher resolution increases the data load for subsequent processes.
Deep hole Scanning: This mode significantly enhances the ability to scan inside deep holes by triangulating the unique laser line based on the distance between the projector and one camera. For scanning of up to 30mm in depth, such as measuring or capturing features like rips, deep hole scanning mode provides enhanced capabilities.
Large-area Scanning: Equipped with 11 parallel infrared laser lines this scan mode efficiently captures large surfaces quickly, such as the wing or side of an aircraft. It serves as a foundational reference for initial scans, enabling users to conduct more detailed scans later with ultra-fast, hyper-fine, or deep hole modes in specific areas as required.
Photogrammetry: This mode helps minimise errors caused by longer trajectories and can be beneficial when used alongside other scanning modes or workflows. Unlike traditional photogrammetry, which often requires multiple accessories, the FARO Leap ST has everything you need for photogrammetry—including scale bars—right in the box.
Take a deeper dive into the details and technical specifications here.
On the factory floor an operator using a device like the Leap ST has many advantages. Chief among them is to reduce rework, waste and scrap, detecting any golden parts or first article inspections that don’t meet tolerance, identifying any defects, deviations, or deformations, a component of rapid prototyping and design validation.
They can also compare scanned models with CAD designs to ensure products meet specifications, or they can scan legacy parts or outdated components to create accurate digital models as part of reverse engineering efforts – all while supporting design modifications and product improvements.
Beyond these two applications, factory floor handheld 3D scanning can also:
Aerospace and Automotive are the two industries that arguably benefit from 3D handheld scanning the most. That’s due to the varying complexity of the size differences of the parts being measured. And where a tool like Leap ST, with its five interchangeable modes is most versatile.
Car doors, engine chassis, and interior dashboards, all feature hard-to-reach locations, some with deep holes that are difficult to scan. Likewise, turbine blades, fuselage components, and critical aircraft parts, all must be aligned and inspected to the most exacting specifications.
Considering the pace of technological advancement, both in terms of smart factories and that of handheld 3D scanning technology, the future of where and how these two technologies evolve is difficult to predict.
The best we can do is extrapolate from the present and make some reasonable predictions.
The smart factories of today will likely get smarter. Even if AI doesn’t achieve full-on general intelligence, even today’s rudimentary AI will still have a material impact on increasing efficiencies, eliminating manufacturing bottlenecks, reducing rework, waste and scrap, saving time and money.
AI is growing, but humans aren’t going anywhere. Tools like handheld 3D scanners will also increase in speed, accuracy, and portability, and in their ability to better integrate with existing smart factory systems, be it cloud-based data sharing, or direct communication with other assembly machines as they autonomously self-correct their own alignment errors.
The outgrowth of these two predictions will necessitate the third: the eventual development of true closed-loop engineering, with as close to zero waste as possible – near-perfect efficiency. Again, this doesn’t mean removing humans entirely, only shifting the type of work they do, prioritising oversight versus manual labor and tedious, error-prone data input.
But for now, it’s clear the smart factories of today and current iterations of handheld 3D scanning technology are inseparable companion tools. Each needs each other to maximize their use. And FARO, with its versatile Leap ST, is helping lead the way in the 3D scanning technology frontier.