industrial CT scanning - its not always necessary

Industrial CT scanning services are often the best choice for small parts or parts requiring scanning on the part interior. It can take a lot of human error out of the equation when you can put the whole part into an industrial CT scanner and get a scan of the entire part, as opposed to having to scan it the conventional way, one laser line or structured light image at a time. But there are situations what on the surface appear to favor industrial ct scanning services, but in fact have a different solution that is much more economical. Here we examine a few examples where industrial ct scanning services was an option but not the most economical method. 

Let’s say you have a part to scan such as a small tube or manifold where you need to capture internal threads.  Internal threads are very difficult to measure using visible light 3d scanners for obvious reasons. Normally one would immediately turn to industrial CT scanning services to capture crisp, accurate data on the internal thread. But before doing so, one should ask – is the part disposable? Can it be destroyed? If that is the case, the best course of action may be to scan the part in whole, the cut the part in half and scan it again using low cost optical 3d scanning services. One must be careful to ensure that the part is thick enough to maintain its shape, so that by cutting it we don’t end up deforming the part. But by exposing the interior threads, they will be easier to access and scan by visible light 3d scanning services, thus negating the need for higher cost industrial ct scanning. 

Here’s another example. Let’s say you have a small object like a coin or a medallion with fine details on it. As an industrial CT scanning enthusiast, a knee jerk reaction may be to throw it in the industrial CT scanner to receive beautiful quality and high end 3d point cloud data. But, are there cheaper ways? In fact, many small parts can be scanned by a special-purpose small part scanner. This type of scanner is similar to larger turntable-based structured light scanners, but is specially designed with lenses that are focused on a smaller area for very small parts. These type of optical 3D scanning services are common in the dental and jewelry industries. It is frequently possible to achieve more than adequate resolution and quality this way without involving the use of expensive industrial CT scanning services. 

Finally, say you have a cylinder head with intake and exhaust passages that have been finely honed using a manually process. This cylinder head has the magic that makes your muscle car go faster, and you want to replicate the interior passages using CNC manufacturing. It may be tempting to consider industrial CT scanning services, but due to the steel or aluminum construction of the cylinder head, the cost of industrial CT scanning services may be quite high. Cutting the part is not only difficult, but often these types of parts are not disposable or easily replaced. In this situation one option is to use a casting product. The idea is to fill the cavity with the casting product, let it set, remove it and scan the “negative” of the cavity using a conventional 3d scanner. This is a lot cheaper and usually very accurate. 

We certainly love providing industrial CT scanning services to our customers, but it is not always the best choice. You can trust Arrival 3D to help you make the right decisions to get the most for your hard earned money when using our 3D scanning services.