Hi-
I am new to the forum and was hoping someone might be able to help. I am hoping to have a better understanding of what 3d scanner works best with Rhino. In particular, I am looking for a scanner that is cost effective for a medium sized boatyard to help out with patterning projects from decks to interiors.
In the past, I have hired 3d laser surveyors for the job and their scanners have always supplied extremely cumbersome point clouds that I have to transfer from the mesh to NURBS… I am hoping to find an easier way/ portable scanner. Does anyone have any experience with this? I would greatly appreciate any help. Many Thanks.
-Ben
Consider using photogrammetry instead of laser scanning. I’ve talked to several boat yards which use it to capture the shape of decks, etc. For patterning and similar I recommend the type of photogrammetry which generates the 3d coordinates of selected points, usually applied targets. Other user selected locations as round spots, lines, sharp edges and circular can be used with some limitations. Required equipment is a digital camera, software and a computer. Procedure is to apply targets, take photos for multiple locations, process photos on the computer, and export the results to Rhino.
My recommendation for software is PhotoModeler. www.photomodeler.com The points generated in PhotoModeler can be directly exported as a .3dm file. It’s also possible to generate curves and basic geometry directly in PhotoModeler but I find exporting the points to Rhino and then working with the points in Rhino to be most efficient. Any computer which runs Rhino efficiently should be sufficient for PhotoModeler.
An alternative to PhotoModeler has been a plug-in for Rhino called RhinoPhoto. Its capabilities are limited compared to PhotoModeler. I checked the RhinoPhoto website today and it appears not to have been updated since last summer. Also, it said a version for Rhino 5 64 bit is “coming soon”.
Just saw this post even though it’s over a year old. I use a Leica C10 and a FARO Focus 3d laser scanner on a daily basis for scanning vehicles. From my experience, the FARO Scanner is best when it comes to darker and reflective objects. I don’t have any experience with handheld scanners but a FARO scan will import fine into Rhino. Rhino in my opinion, is the best software I have seen that can handle large files. I’ve brought in pointclouds over 5 Gigs and it can still handle it. To model with the pointclouds, I highly recommend TSplines, since it has a reverse engineering tool that can help with refining surface accuracy w/ respect to the mesh create from the pointcloud.
Meng,
Thanx for the info.
That’s what I need to do (= scan cars and machinery for add-ons).
Which model FARO scanner do you use?
What is the price tag?
Did the scanner come packaged with software to interpret the raw data for transfer into Rhino?
Thanx …Chris
Hi Meng, I went back on the news blog and remembered dot ptoducts. Around 5000.00 for a hand held photo type info gatherer.
May 11th, 2016 was the blog day.—Mark
Thanx Mark.
Looks interesting.