用3D激光扫描翻新复杂结构

The project engineer at a wastewater treatment plant in Tampa/Florida was faced with a challenging renovation – demolishing one of their pump houses and replacing the piping in the plant’s digesters. While existing two-dimensional drawings documented the pipes, they did not include the level of detail necessary to plan the reconstruction in a way that guaranteed the new installations would not clash with existing structures.

项目工程师及其团队需要对彼此缠绕，更改高程并在各种植物结构中互相缠绕的管道迷宫进行透彻的了解。为了评估水箱的容量，他们需要在水箱内进行测量，其中包括将填充线代表到水箱的最高部分，以及水在塔楼中退出的位置。最后，他们想要一个整体场地计划，展示建筑足迹及其彼此之间的关系。该文件将帮助他们了解水流的动态，确定消化器能力，在水塔中建立联系点，并就植物的修复做出明智的决定。

点云，3D可视化和模型为复杂的管道和阀网络提供了宝贵的见解。

To complete the documentation manually would not only be complex, but it could also be dangerous. First, because the water tower was 53 metres (175 feet) tall, it was difficult to access. In addition, there was the ever-present risk of falling and drowning when taking manual measurements of wastewater digesters, open vats that are used to stabilise the solids removed from the wastewater during treatment.

Manual documentation would also be time consuming due to the complexity as well as the logistics of manoeuvring around the plant and, for example, negotiating catwalks that narrow to about 41 cm (16 in) wide in some places. It probably would have taken a team of four engineers around two weeks to take measurements, and they still would have only been able to gather a bare minimum of data.

从困难，危险到简单安全，并通过激光扫描
项目工程师意识到激光扫描可能是解决他们问题的方法。在寻找服务提供商之后，他联系了Truepoint Laser Scanning总裁Ryan Hacker。由于激光扫描仪有条不紊，快速捕获代表其范围内所有对象的数据点，因此它们可以轻松捕获复杂的管道和植物布局。此外，由于真正的点激光扫描团队选择使用Leica ScanStation C10，因此他们能够在300米（980英尺）范围内准确记录建筑物和结构，同时在一秒钟内捕获数千个数据点。这种远程功能意味着技术人员可以安全地从时装秀上扫描消化厂的内墙，并从地面上记录水塔，从而消除了对人升降机和驱逐设备的需求。

Two TruePoint technicians determined that they needed to take scans in thirty-six locations. Laser scanning captures everything in line of sight. To assure thorough documentation, however, they took scans from multiple angles. Each scan represented a fragment of the puzzle that TruePoint associates would later piece together. While the project engineer had originally planned a multi-phased project in order to continue operations while replacing specific pipes and valves, TruePoint was able to complete the data collection in a day. The quick process also saved money by reducing the need for several documentation projects. In addition, because all the data was available immediately, engineers could make a full plan that reduced the need for future change orders. The scans produced a series of point clouds, threedimensional data sets that represent the scanned objects at the facility. Back at TruePoint’s headquarters, the workflow fell into an easy rhythm as the team imported the multiple point clouds into Leica Cyclone software. Then, to gain a complete view of the plant they assembled the puzzle, registering the point clouds and joining them into a single data set. They sent the 3D representation to the engineers at the water treatment plant who also use Leica Cyclone software. The engineers imported the point clouds into their Autodesk AutoCAD software to create a model. In addition, TruePoint provided Leica TruViews that give a panoramic 3D view of the scanned area. The TruViews are intuitive for people to use; they can easily zoom in to see points of interest and look at them from all angles.

Taking measurements and analysing the data in the office
工程师能够从办公室的舒适度中仔细检查数据，并计算出诸如管道，水流和特定测量值的必要升高。将所有数据触手可及，使他们能够为制造商提供所需的新管道的确切尺寸和形状。一旦他们收到管道，他们在网站上要做的就是组装。因此，他们节省了手动劳动时间。结果，水处理厂的工程师能够更准确，全面地计划其翻新工程，提高安全性，降低成本并更快地实现目标。由于该项目的成功，项目经理现在已将激光扫描纳入其他项目。

Written by Bruce Bowditch