What is High Definition 3D Laser Scanning?

Most people are familiar with the concept of 2D scanning because of the advent of such machines as photocopiers, faxes, and the benchtop scanners. However, most people have never heard of a 3D scanner.
3D scanners are machines that "reach out and touch" objects. They typically use lasers and other optics as their "feelers". The information gathered can be stored on computers, and viewed in 3D space.

How it Works

The basic concept of the 3D laser scanner is simple. The scanner itself pivots around and takes millions of measurements with a small laser. Each measurement is converted into a 3D coordinate and entered into a database. The data can be viewed using software that converts the database information into "point clouds". The software also enables the user to make sense of the huge amount of information that exists in a point cloud. The software can recognize basic shapes and surfaces, which can then be converted into a solid model. The solid model can then be used with other CAD/CAM programs for any purpose desired. The model can be saved and used indefinitely.

A "point cloud" is the viewable result of a scan. It looks as the name suggests. Clouds of points represent each set of coordinates stored in the database.