K & A Laser Scanning

 

Stand in between a light bulb and a window shade and your shadow is a two-dimensional map of your profile. Turn one degree clockwise and a new map is created of a different profile. Do this 360 times, cut out the left side of each profile, and arrange them like thin slices in a pie, and you'll have a 3-D model of you. The relative distances between you, the light bulb and the shade will determine the size of your profiles and thus the size of your statue. Do all this with a line of laser light and a digital camera whose lens is wired to a computer and you have a 3-D digital image of whatever the laser beam shines on.

All this sounds pretty simple, and in concept it is, like flying to the moon. A little math, a little rocket fuel and there you are. In fact, it's a bit more complex, but the actual process yields results which are amazing yet, in certain ways, limited. For example, scanning a small statue can produce an incredibly accurate map of nearly all of the surface in seconds. It is the "nearly" part which can add hours if not days to a project.

The bottom line is that, if properly used and understood, laser scanning can represent a powerful tool in the craftsman's arsenal. Like a chisel or a hammer, however, it must be used in conjunction with other tools to yield the best results. Also like a chisel or hammer, the skill of the craftsman can make the difference between a work of art and a pile of scrap. K&A has nearly twenty years of experience in the field, more then anyone else we know. More importantly, for as many years, our customers come again and again.

 


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Last updated: 09/21/06