New Geomagic plug-in for Faro ScanArm makes scanning like painting with a brush
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., August 2, 2004-Geomagic announces a new plug-in that provides real-time processing and graphics display of physical objects as they are captured by a Faro ScanArm.
The free plug-in will be available directly from Faro and for downloading from the Geomagic web site (www.geomagic.com/support/downloads/plugin.php3) on August 6. It is fully integrated with Geomagic Qualify computer-aided inspection and Geomagic Studio reverse-engineering software.
“The Geomagic plug-in makes it easy and fast to do real-time analysis of points, features and datums collected by the ScanArm,” says Simon Raab, FARO’s president and CEO. “It simplifies the process and shortens the time from measuring to digital reconstruction and inspection.”
Real-time display & filteringGeomagic’s plug-in turns the Faro ScanArm into the equivalent of a 3D digital paint brush. When an object is scanned, measurement data is immediately displayed on the screen as a solid polygon model. The interface allows users to see exactly what has been scanned, resulting in more complete data capture.
When not scanning, the software uses the device as a 3D mouse, enabling users to interactively rotate the object on screen to view it from different angles. The entire capture and display process can be conducted without using the computer keyboard or mouse.
The plug-in includes features that automatically filter scan data as it is being captured:
- A real-time scan-line filter removes data not picked up accurately by the scanner, substantially reducing post-scanning clean-up time.
- Noise reduction smoothes the surface of measurement line data in real time.
- Uniform sampling provides an even distribution of points in 3D space; this is performed instantaneously when a user hits the pause button on the scanner.
The Faro plug-in supports real-time display for both the laser scanner and hard probe within the ScanArm. The laser scanner digitizes large areas at speeds of more than 13,000 points per second, and the hard probe creates accurate features and datums for alignment, comparison and reverse engineering. Data captured by the laser scanner and the hard probe can be acquired and processed within a single Geomagic software application.
“The ScanArm provides a unique combination of laser scanning and hard probe that serves a wide range of data measurement needs,” says Ping Fu, Geomagic president and CEO. “We’re committed to supporting ScanArm users with a complete solution to get their job done quickly, whether it is reverse-engineering a physical part or inspecting an as-built part against its CAD model.”
Geomagic provides a standard API that enables any scanner to be integrated with Geomagic software. The Faro plug-in further improves the API’s real-time performance and its ability to support both non-contact scanners and portable CMMs.
“We see this as an important step in providing a standardized software platform for data measurement systems,” Fu says. “The plug-and-play interface will make it much easier and faster for users of any scanning or CMM hardware to get their data into the digital reconstruction and inspection pipeline.”
About GeomagicGeomagic (www.geomagic.com) is based in Research Triangle Park, N.C., and has wholly owned subsidiaries in Europe and Asia. More than 3,000 users worldwide turn to Geomagic to provide the technology for customizing products, automating processes, and increasing throughput.
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