Reverse Engineering Brief Tutorial

A Brief Tutorial
RE Scanner & Digitizer
Technology Comparison Chart

This is by no means a complete listing. There are many more instruments available in each technology category and from each vendor, and from many additional vendors, as well. Entries were selected to illustrate the general specifications of a technology, or to show the upper and lower bounds of a vendor's offerings. Use the commercial directory pages to explore categories of interest in depth.

Technology Representative Vendor Model Volume Accuracy Color ? Speed Price Range

Mechanical Touch Probe

Mechanical Arm Faro Technologies FaroArm - Advantage 4 feet 0.001 inches Not Applic Manual operations $19,900

Mechanical Arm Faro Technologies FaroArm - Platinum 12 feet 0.005 inches Not Applic Manual operations -

Mechanical Arm Immersion MicroScribe G2 50 inches (1.27 m) 0.015 inches (0.38 mm) Not Applic Manual operations $3,495

Mechanical Arm Immersion MicroScribe G2LX 66 inches (1.67 m) 0.012 inches (0.30 mm) Not Applic Manual operations $5,495

Guided Probe Roland DGA Corp. PIX-4 6 x 4 x 2.4 inches Minimum scan pitch of 0.002 inches Not Applic No info provided $1,995

Guided Probe Roland DGA Corp. PIX-30 12 x 8 x 2.4 inches Minimum scan pitch of 0.002 inches Not Applic No info provided $3,495

Strengths accuracy; low-cost instruments avail.; measures deep slots, pockets; not affected by color or transparency

Weaknesses manual operation; slow for complex surfaces; can distort soft objects

Technology Representative Vendor Model Volume Accuracy Color ? Speed Price Range

Laser Line Scanner

Laser Meas. Head Laser Design, Inc. RPS-120 Not Applic., Measuring head; 3.5 inches stand-off distance +/- 0.00025 in acc.; 0.001 in resolution No 14,400 points / sec -

Laser Meas. Head Laser Design, Inc. RPS-450 Not Applic. Measuring head; 7.83 inches stand-off distance +/- 0.001 in acc.; 0.0037 in resolution No 14,400 points / sec -

Laser Meas. Head KREON Technologies KLS 51 Not Applic. Measuring head; Mtd to Arm or Mach tool / Triangulation angle 30 deg resolution 42 microns No Up to 20 000 points/sec -

Laser Meas. Head KREON Technologies KLS 171 Not Applic. Measuring head; Mtd to Arm or Mach tool / Triangulation angle 30 deg resolution 120 microns No Up to 20 000 points/sec -

Laser Scanner / Aux. Video Cyberware Model 15 Desktop Scanner 9.84 (X) x 5.91 (min Y) x 2.95 (Z) inches Resol: X,Y: 0.012; Z: 0.002 to 0.008 (inches) Yes 14,580 points / sec. -

Laser Scanner / Aux. Video Cyberware Model Shop 3D Scanner 3030RGB/MS 39 (X) x 10.25 (min Y) x 11.82 (Z) inches Resol: X: 0.01 to 0.04;Y: 0.028; Z: 0.004 min (inches) Yes 4,580 points / sec. -

Laser Scanner / Aux. Video Cyberware Whole Body 4 color 3D Scaner Cylindrical FOV; Depth: 47 inches; Height: 79 inches Resol: X: 0.19;Y: 0.08; Z: 0.019 min (inches) Yes 60,000 points / sec. -

Laser Scanner / Aux. Video Konica Minolta Sensing Vivid 700 2.8 x 2.8 to 43.3 x 43.3 inches 200 X 200 X 256 points (x,y,z resol.) Yes 160,000 points in 0.6 sec. -

Laser Scanner / Aux. Video Konica Minolta Sensing Vivid 910 111 x 84 x 40 mm (tele lens) to 1200 x 903 x 400 mm (wide lens) +/- 0.008 mm acc.; +/- 0.008 mm prec. Yes 307,000 pixels in 2.5 secs using Fine mode and tele. lens -

Laser Scanner Nextec Table Top Hawk Linear travel: 240 mm (9.4 inch); Scanning range: +/- 5 mm (+/-0.2 inch) Resolution: 1 micron; Total measuring accuracy: 10 microns (1 sigma) No 40 points per sec -

Laser Scanner / Aux. Video Riegl LMS-Z210i 4 to 400 m range x 80 deg vert x 360 deg Rot. 5 mm resol.; +/- 15 mm accuracy (averaged) or +/- 25 mm single shot Yes, Optional 12,000 points / sec; up to 15 deg / sec for horiz scan -

Laser Scanner Riegl LMS-Z420i 2 to 800 m range x 80 deg vert x 360 deg Rot. 5 mm resol.; +/- 5 mm accuracy (averaged) or +/- 10 mm single shot No 12,000 points / sec; up to 15 deg / sec for horiz scan -

Laser Scanner Roland DGA Corp. LPX-250 10 in (dia.) x 16 in (ht.) 0.008 inches resol. No No info provided $9,995

Laser Scanner ShapeGrabber LM600 System 600 x 160 x 165 mm Accuracies to 0.03 mm No 15,000 to 100,000+ points/sec -

Strengths non-contacting; fast digitizing of substantial volumes; good accuracy and resolution; color capability available

Weaknesses possible limitations for colored or transparent surfaces; laser cautions apply

Technology Representative Vendor Model Volume Accuracy Color ? Speed Price Range

Other Types of Laser Systems

Laser time of flight Callidus Precision Systems GmbH CT900 1.6 m W x 1.4 m H 50 microns resolution on axis of turntable; 70 microns at far end of meas range No 4000 points / sec -

Laser time of flight Callidus Precision Systems GmbH CT180 350 mm W x 375 mm H 25 at near end to 70 microns at far end of meas range No 4000 points / sec -

Laser tracking Automated Precision, Inc. Smart Trak 6D 40 m range Static acc: 0.001 inches at 16 ft No Up to 2000 meas / second tracking a moving target -

Strengths non-contacting; fast digitizing of substantial volumes; good accuracy and resolution; trackers are very precise; large stand-off distance for large objects

Weaknesses possible limitations for colored or transparent surfaces; trackers are fairly slow and may req targets; laser cautions apply

Technology Representative Vendor Model Volume Accuracy Color ? Speed Price Range

Tracking Systems, Other Than Laser Types

LED-based tracking Boulder Innovation Group, Inc. 3D Creator 1 m Sphere 0.2 mm mean volumetric acc No 300 points / second -

LED-based tracking Metronor Solo Measurement System 10.5 m range 0.02 to 0.1 mm meas. uncertanty No Manual operations -

Magnetic tracking Northern Digital Aurora 500 mm cubic volume 1.3 mm rms; 2.1 mm to 95% confid. level No 22 to 45 points / sec depending on number of sensor coils -

Strengths can digitize hidden points in some cases; can be used to track motion of many points simult.; magnetic devices can meas outside line of sight; not affected by color, transparency or surface quality

Weaknesses requires targets or contacting probes; smaller volumes; lower accuracy; slow for complex surfaces

Technology Representative Vendor Model Volume Accuracy Color ? Speed Price Range

Structured-light and Broadband Source Systems

Arm-mounted structured white light scanners GOM mbH ATOS II 5 x 4 x 4 to 67 x 53 x 53 inches 0.003 to 0.039 inches No 1.3 million points in 7 secs. -

Arm-mounted structured white light scanners GOM mbH ATOS III 6 x 6 x 4 to 80 x 80 x 80 inches 0.003 to 0.040 inches No 4 million points in 8 secs. -

Moire white light pattern Inspeck 3D Mega Capturor II / Small Field 401 x 321 mm X & Y: 0.3 mm; Z: 0.4 mm resol. Yes 1.3 million points in 0.7 sec. -

Moire white light pattern Inspeck 3D Mega Capturor II / Large Field 1140 x 910 mm X & Y: 0.9 mm; Z: 1.0 mm resol. Yes 1.3 million points in 0.7 sec. -

Moire white light pattern Inspeck Capturor II / Small Field 352 x 264 mm X & Y: 0.6 mm; Z: 0.5 mm resol. Yes 0.3 million points in 0.4 sec. -

Moire white light pattern Inspeck Capturor II / Large Field 1195 x 896 mm X & Y: 1.9 mm; Z: 1.0 mm resol. Yes 0.3 million points in 0.4 sec. -

Projected white light patterns Genex Technologies, Inc. Rainbow 3D Camera Several customizable models offered with capacities from approximately a 3 inch cube to more than a 10 inch cube. Accuracy to 25 microns (0.001 in) Yes Captures 768 X 576 pixel image (442,368 pixels) in < 1 sec. -

Moire-coded white light triangulation Steinbichler Optotechnik GmbH Comet Not specified; 2 million points per view Accuracy to +/- 20 microns No Not speciied -

Strengths very fast; color available; no laser safety precautions

Weaknesses somewhat lower accuracy

Technology Representative Vendor Model Volume Accuracy Color ? Speed Price Range

Internal Viewing Systems

X-ray computed tomography Aracor Konoscope 160/200 200 mm dia 1024 X 1024 X 1024 pixel image; 0.4 mm resol; 0.04 mm acc. Not Applic No info provided -

X-ray computed tomography Aracor ICT 2500 2500 mm dia 2048 X 2048 pixels; 3mm resol; 0.25 mm acc. Not Applic No info provided -

X-ray computed tomography Bio-Imaging Research (BIR) Actis 600/450 600 mm dia; unlimited height 20 line pairs/ mm max spatial resol; density resol: 0.1%; can detect 150 micron flaw, 200 micron void and 10 micron crack. Not Applic 14 min for scanning 600 mm dia object -

X-ray computed tomography HYTEC Sensors & Imaging Group, Inc. Flash CT 16 inches in height; cross sectional area undefined 0.005 inches resolution Not Applic 200 MB / minute of volume data -

Destructive / Cross-sectional Scanning CGI, Inc. CSS-300 7 x 5 x 9 inches +/- 0.0008 inches (0.0005 to 0.010 inches layer thickness) No 2 to 3 hours -

Destructive / Cross-sectional Scanning CGI, Inc. CSS-3000 14 x 16 x 15 inches +/- 0.0008 inches (0.0005 to 0.010 inches layer thickness) No No info provided -

Strengths Internal viewing and sample preservation for CT

Weaknesses radiation safety; sample destruction for CSS; can be slow

Technology Representative Vendor Model Volume Accuracy Color ? Speed Price Range

Technology	Representative Vendor	Model	Volume	Accuracy	Color ?	Speed	Price Range
Mechanical Touch Probe
Mechanical Arm	Faro Technologies	FaroArm - Advantage	4 feet	0.001 inches	Not Applic	Manual operations	$19,900
Mechanical Arm	Faro Technologies	FaroArm - Platinum	12 feet	0.005 inches	Not Applic	Manual operations	-
Mechanical Arm	Immersion	MicroScribe G2	50 inches (1.27 m)	0.015 inches (0.38 mm)	Not Applic	Manual operations	$3,495
Mechanical Arm	Immersion	MicroScribe G2LX	66 inches (1.67 m)	0.012 inches (0.30 mm)	Not Applic	Manual operations	$5,495
Guided Probe	Roland DGA Corp.	PIX-4	6 x 4 x 2.4 inches	Minimum scan pitch of 0.002 inches	Not Applic	No info provided	$1,995
Guided Probe	Roland DGA Corp.	PIX-30	12 x 8 x 2.4 inches	Minimum scan pitch of 0.002 inches	Not Applic	No info provided	$3,495
Strengths	accuracy; low-cost instruments avail.; measures deep slots, pockets; not affected by color or transparency
Weaknesses	manual operation; slow for complex surfaces; can distort soft objects

Technology	Representative Vendor	Model	Volume	Accuracy	Color ?	Speed	Price Range
Laser Line Scanner
Laser Meas. Head	Laser Design, Inc.	RPS-120	Not Applic., Measuring head; 3.5 inches stand-off distance	+/- 0.00025 in acc.; 0.001 in resolution	No	14,400 points / sec	-
Laser Meas. Head	Laser Design, Inc.	RPS-450	Not Applic. Measuring head; 7.83 inches stand-off distance	+/- 0.001 in acc.; 0.0037 in resolution	No	14,400 points / sec	-
Laser Meas. Head	KREON Technologies	KLS 51	Not Applic. Measuring head; Mtd to Arm or Mach tool / Triangulation angle 30 deg	resolution 42 microns	No	Up to 20 000 points/sec	-
Laser Meas. Head	KREON Technologies	KLS 171	Not Applic. Measuring head; Mtd to Arm or Mach tool / Triangulation angle 30 deg	resolution 120 microns	No	Up to 20 000 points/sec	-
Laser Scanner / Aux. Video	Cyberware	Model 15 Desktop Scanner	9.84 (X) x 5.91 (min Y) x 2.95 (Z) inches	Resol: X,Y: 0.012; Z: 0.002 to 0.008 (inches)	Yes	14,580 points / sec.	-
Laser Scanner / Aux. Video	Cyberware	Model Shop 3D Scanner 3030RGB/MS	39 (X) x 10.25 (min Y) x 11.82 (Z) inches	Resol: X: 0.01 to 0.04;Y: 0.028; Z: 0.004 min (inches)	Yes	4,580 points / sec.	-
Laser Scanner / Aux. Video	Cyberware	Whole Body 4 color 3D Scaner	Cylindrical FOV; Depth: 47 inches; Height: 79 inches	Resol: X: 0.19;Y: 0.08; Z: 0.019 min (inches)	Yes	60,000 points / sec.	-
Laser Scanner / Aux. Video	Konica Minolta Sensing	Vivid 700	2.8 x 2.8 to 43.3 x 43.3 inches	200 X 200 X 256 points (x,y,z resol.)	Yes	160,000 points in 0.6 sec.	-
Laser Scanner / Aux. Video	Konica Minolta Sensing	Vivid 910	111 x 84 x 40 mm (tele lens) to 1200 x 903 x 400 mm (wide lens)	+/- 0.008 mm acc.; +/- 0.008 mm prec.	Yes	307,000 pixels in 2.5 secs using Fine mode and tele. lens	-
Laser Scanner	Nextec	Table Top Hawk	Linear travel: 240 mm (9.4 inch); Scanning range: +/- 5 mm (+/-0.2 inch)	Resolution: 1 micron; Total measuring accuracy: 10 microns (1 sigma)	No	40 points per sec	-
Laser Scanner / Aux. Video	Riegl	LMS-Z210i	4 to 400 m range x 80 deg vert x 360 deg Rot.	5 mm resol.; +/- 15 mm accuracy (averaged) or +/- 25 mm single shot	Yes, Optional	12,000 points / sec; up to 15 deg / sec for horiz scan	-
Laser Scanner	Riegl	LMS-Z420i	2 to 800 m range x 80 deg vert x 360 deg Rot.	5 mm resol.; +/- 5 mm accuracy (averaged) or +/- 10 mm single shot	No	12,000 points / sec; up to 15 deg / sec for horiz scan	-
Laser Scanner	Roland DGA Corp.	LPX-250	10 in (dia.) x 16 in (ht.)	0.008 inches resol.	No	No info provided	$9,995
Laser Scanner	ShapeGrabber	LM600 System	600 x 160 x 165 mm	Accuracies to 0.03 mm	No	15,000 to 100,000+ points/sec	-
Strengths	non-contacting; fast digitizing of substantial volumes; good accuracy and resolution; color capability available
Weaknesses	possible limitations for colored or transparent surfaces; laser cautions apply

Technology	Representative Vendor	Model	Volume	Accuracy	Color ?	Speed	Price Range
Other Types of Laser Systems
Laser time of flight	Callidus Precision Systems GmbH	CT900	1.6 m W x 1.4 m H	50 microns resolution on axis of turntable; 70 microns at far end of meas range	No	4000 points / sec	-
Laser time of flight	Callidus Precision Systems GmbH	CT180	350 mm W x 375 mm H	25 at near end to 70 microns at far end of meas range	No	4000 points / sec	-
Laser tracking	Automated Precision, Inc.	Smart Trak 6D	40 m range	Static acc: 0.001 inches at 16 ft	No	Up to 2000 meas / second tracking a moving target	-
Strengths	non-contacting; fast digitizing of substantial volumes; good accuracy and resolution; trackers are very precise; large stand-off distance for large objects
Weaknesses	possible limitations for colored or transparent surfaces; trackers are fairly slow and may req targets; laser cautions apply

Technology	Representative Vendor	Model	Volume	Accuracy	Color ?	Speed	Price Range
Tracking Systems, Other Than Laser Types
LED-based tracking	Boulder Innovation Group, Inc.	3D Creator	1 m Sphere	0.2 mm mean volumetric acc	No	300 points / second	-
LED-based tracking	Metronor	Solo Measurement System	10.5 m range	0.02 to 0.1 mm meas. uncertanty	No	Manual operations	-
Magnetic tracking	Northern Digital	Aurora	500 mm cubic volume	1.3 mm rms; 2.1 mm to 95% confid. level	No	22 to 45 points / sec depending on number of sensor coils	-
Strengths	can digitize hidden points in some cases; can be used to track motion of many points simult.; magnetic devices can meas outside line of sight; not affected by color, transparency or surface quality
Weaknesses	requires targets or contacting probes; smaller volumes; lower accuracy; slow for complex surfaces

Technology	Representative Vendor	Model	Volume	Accuracy	Color ?	Speed	Price Range
Structured-light and Broadband Source Systems
Arm-mounted structured white light scanners	GOM mbH	ATOS II	5 x 4 x 4 to 67 x 53 x 53 inches	0.003 to 0.039 inches	No	1.3 million points in 7 secs.	-
Arm-mounted structured white light scanners	GOM mbH	ATOS III	6 x 6 x 4 to 80 x 80 x 80 inches	0.003 to 0.040 inches	No	4 million points in 8 secs.	-
Moire white light pattern	Inspeck	3D Mega Capturor II / Small Field	401 x 321 mm	X & Y: 0.3 mm; Z: 0.4 mm resol.	Yes	1.3 million points in 0.7 sec.	-
Moire white light pattern	Inspeck	3D Mega Capturor II / Large Field	1140 x 910 mm	X & Y: 0.9 mm; Z: 1.0 mm resol.	Yes	1.3 million points in 0.7 sec.	-
Moire white light pattern	Inspeck	Capturor II / Small Field	352 x 264 mm	X & Y: 0.6 mm; Z: 0.5 mm resol.	Yes	0.3 million points in 0.4 sec.	-
Moire white light pattern	Inspeck	Capturor II / Large Field	1195 x 896 mm	X & Y: 1.9 mm; Z: 1.0 mm resol.	Yes	0.3 million points in 0.4 sec.	-
Projected white light patterns	Genex Technologies, Inc.	Rainbow 3D Camera	Several customizable models offered with capacities from approximately a 3 inch cube to more than a 10 inch cube.	Accuracy to 25 microns (0.001 in)	Yes	Captures 768 X 576 pixel image (442,368 pixels) in < 1 sec.	-
Moire-coded white light triangulation	Steinbichler Optotechnik GmbH	Comet	Not specified; 2 million points per view	Accuracy to +/- 20 microns	No	Not speciied	-
Strengths	very fast; color available; no laser safety precautions
Weaknesses	somewhat lower accuracy

Technology	Representative Vendor	Model	Volume	Accuracy	Color ?	Speed	Price Range
Internal Viewing Systems
X-ray computed tomography	Aracor	Konoscope 160/200	200 mm dia	1024 X 1024 X 1024 pixel image; 0.4 mm resol; 0.04 mm acc.	Not Applic	No info provided	-
X-ray computed tomography	Aracor	ICT 2500	2500 mm dia	2048 X 2048 pixels; 3mm resol; 0.25 mm acc.	Not Applic	No info provided	-
X-ray computed tomography	Bio-Imaging Research (BIR)	Actis 600/450	600 mm dia; unlimited height	20 line pairs/ mm max spatial resol; density resol: 0.1%; can detect 150 micron flaw, 200 micron void and 10 micron crack.	Not Applic	14 min for scanning 600 mm dia object	-
X-ray computed tomography	HYTEC Sensors & Imaging Group, Inc.	Flash CT	16 inches in height; cross sectional area undefined	0.005 inches resolution	Not Applic	200 MB / minute of volume data	-
Destructive / Cross-sectional Scanning	CGI, Inc.	CSS-300	7 x 5 x 9 inches	+/- 0.0008 inches (0.0005 to 0.010 inches layer thickness)	No	2 to 3 hours	-
Destructive / Cross-sectional Scanning	CGI, Inc.	CSS-3000	14 x 16 x 15 inches	+/- 0.0008 inches (0.0005 to 0.010 inches layer thickness)	No	No info provided	-
Strengths	Internal viewing and sample preservation for CT
Weaknesses	radiation safety; sample destruction for CSS; can be slow
Technology	Representative Vendor	Model	Volume	Accuracy	Color ?	Speed	Price Range

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*RE Brief Tutorial Navigation*
Scanning Technologies at a Glance Mechanical Touch-probe Systems Laser-based Systems Structured-light or Broadband-source Systems Seeing Inside - Internal Viewing Technologies RE Technology Comparison Chart	3D Metrology Systems for Manufacturing Scanners for Very Large Objects and Surveying Applications Commercial Manufacturers Directory

RE Brief Tutorial Navigation

Scanning Technologies at a Glance

Mechanical Touch-probe Systems

Laser-based Systems

Structured-light or Broadband-source Systems

Seeing Inside - Internal Viewing Technologies

RE Technology Comparison Chart

3D Metrology Systems for Manufacturing

Scanners for Very Large Objects and Surveying Applications

Commercial Manufacturers Directory

A Brief TutorialRE Scanner & Digitizer Technology Comparison Chart

A Brief Tutorial
RE Scanner & Digitizer
Technology Comparison Chart