Putting the Leica RTC360 LT to the test for boat building and marine applications

作者：塔玛拉·斯塔基克（Tamara Stakic）

Blue Marble Marine，一家澳大利亚公司，提供激光扫描和对海洋结构和设备的反向工程，最近获得了Leica RTC360 LT3D laser scanner to increase productivity by reducing the amount of time needed to spend on-site to capture marine structures such as boat hulls, superstructures and maritime equipment.

Blue Marble Marine specialises in scanning and modelling vessels for builders and naval architects who are seeking Australian Maritime Safety Authority compliance (AMSA). The electronic surface models can also be used for a variety of other applications, including hull or superstructure rebuilds, build monitoring for quality assurance and damage repairs. Their clients rely on Blue Marble Marine to deliver accurate 3D models, point clouds for mesh creation and finite element analysis (FEA), basic hydrostatic calculations, lines plans and full-sized plots.

马修·摩根,所有者和经营者的蓝色大理石Marine has been part of the industry for 30 years and is no stranger to Leica Geosystems – Morgan has been an owner of the Leica TC703 total station for approximately 15 years. The TC703 has been used to scan at least 200 boats and still functions as a way to document the alignment of propulsion and rudder shafts.

多年来，随着休闲船变得更大，摩根发现自己在现场花费了更多的时间，并且需要更快的解决方案，而不需要两人的操作。

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Unmatched speed

摩根伸出to C.R. Kennedy, Leica Geosystems distributor in Australia to put the RTC360 LT laser scanner to the test. During the demonstration, to determine the productivity to be gained with the help of the RTC360, Morgan and Jennifer Ludwig, software application engineer at C.R. Kennedy concurrently scanned a 50-foot boat. Ludwig used the RTC360 LT and Morgan used his traditional method, the TC703 total station.

The results weren’t surprising. Ludwig was able to scan the boat three times quicker than Morgan, who also had to rely on an additional person. With a measuring rate of up to 1 million points per second and advanced High-Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging system, it was clear to Morgan that the RTC360 LT would give him the productivity edge over the more traditional methods.

The vessel that Ludwig and Morgan scanned to demonstrate the RTC360 LT. This demonstration convinced Morgan to upgrade to the RTC360 LT.

对于摩根来说，另一个重要的先决条件是一种仪器，该乐器足够简单，可以在不作为经过训练的测量师的情况下使用 - 这要归功于一键操作RTC360 LT勾选了盒子。尽管该仪器需要适合目的，但还需要轻松地集成到现有的工作流程中。“我们的工作流程涉及捕获现有的船体和上层建筑，并将其作为点，然后为这些要点创建最合适的表面。我们几乎所有的工作都涉及弯曲的表面，然后将所得的表面模型用于海军建筑师或造船者的内部装修进行静静力分析。”摩根说。

Under guidance by Ludwig, Morgan was able to easily incorporate the RTC360 LT in the current workflow to create 3D models in Rhinoceros® (Rhino) and deliver the 3D surface models to naval architects. Due to the ample data that is captured by the RTC360 LT, Morgan can deliver the point cloud to the naval architects as well as a 2D or 3D CAD file. Having the ability to provide additional images to the client at the same time is another bonus and added value Morgan can offer especially for record-keeping and damage insurance claims.

The vessel and the ramp were scanned using the RTC360 LT to simulate the launch of a refitted "Perry 57” catamaran. Blue Marble Marine needed to determine the tide height required to float the vessel off the launching trailer.

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Embracing technology

As the boat building and marine industry adopts 3D laser scanning, for Morgan, having the latest technology has ensured he is at the forefront in his industry and can go above and beyond to provide information to clients. Cutting the time spent on the site means Morgan can focus his time on the deliverables that really matter to his clients.

摩根说：“除了我们的行业采用3D激光扫描仪，作为服务提供商，我们为客户提供服务的最佳方式是提供正确的结果 - 我们的客户依靠我们为他们提供有用的信息。”

On making the move to acquire the latest 3D laser scanning technology, Morgan had this to say, “If we can do it, anyone can. It was time to take the plunge.”