Structured Light Scanner Triangulation

The concept of triangulation.

Structured light scanner triangulation.

So how do laser scanners compare to structured light scanners. Just as with other 3d scanning technologies structured light 3d scanning is based on the concept of triangulation. At present laser triangulation scanners structured light and contact scanning are the predominant technologies employed for industrial purposes with contact scanning remaining the slowest but overall most accurate option. By emitting a beam of light on any single point of an object and taking three measurements of the point including distance and angle the exact position of the point space can be determined.

In this article we explore the two main technologies used for 3d scanning for 3d printing in other words laser triangulation and structured light. Nevertheless 3d scanning technology offers distinct advantages compared to traditional touch probe measurements. The same technique used for thom s face in the radiohead house of cards video. 3d scanning can be based on different technologies each with their own benefits limitations.

I ll walk you through setting up your projector and camera and capturing images that can be decoded into a 3d point cloud using a processing application. For sub micron applications led structured light sensors are preferred since laser triangulation sensors produce laser speckle that prevents scanning at the sub micron level. The target object is stationary. Sensor set up considerations.

Configuring a structured light sensor for a specific application is in some respects a simple process.