Renovating complex structures with 3D laser scanning

坦帕/佛罗里达州一家废水处理厂的项目工程师面临着具有挑战性的翻新工程 - 拆除了其中一个泵房，并取代了该工厂消化器中的管道。虽然现有的二维图纸记录了管道，但它们并未包含计划重建所需的细节级别，以保证新安装的方式不会与现有结构发生冲突。

The project engineer and his team required a thorough understanding of the labyrinth of pipes that wound around each other, changed elevations, and wove in and out of assorted plant structures. To assess the water tank’s capacity, they needed measurements inside the tank that included a representation of the fill line to the highest part of the tank, as well as the point where water exits the tower. Finally, they wanted an overall site plan showing building footprints and their relationship to each other. This documentation would help them to understand the dynamics of the water flow, determine digester capacity, establish their connection points in the water tower and make informed decisions regarding the plant’s restoration.

Point clouds, 3D visualisations and models provide valuable insight on a complex network of pipes and valves.

手动完成文档不仅很复杂，而且可能很危险。首先，由于水塔高53米（175英尺），因此很难进入。此外，在对废水消化器进行手动测量时，存在掉落和溺水的风险，这些消化剂是稳定在处理过程中从废水中去除的固体的开放式桶。

由于复杂性以及植物周围操纵的物流，手动文档也将很耗时，例如，在某些地方狭窄到约41厘米（16英寸）的时装秀。大约两周的时间来进行测量，可能需要一支由四名工程师组成的团队，他们仍然只能收集最少的数据。

From difficult and dangerous to simple and safe with laser scanning
项目工程师意识到激光扫描could be the solution to their problem. After searching for service providers, he contacted Ryan Hacker, president of TruePoint Laser Scanning. Because laser scanners methodically and quickly capture data points that represent all objects within their range, they could easily capture the complex piping and plant layout. In addition, since the True-Point Laser Scanning team chose to use the Leica ScanStation C10, they were able to document buildings and structures accurately within a 300 metre (980 feet) range while capturing thousands of data points in a second. This long-range capability meant the technicians could safely scan the interior walls of digesters from the catwalks and record the water tower from the ground, eliminating the need for man lifts and repelling equipment.

两名Truepoint技术人员确定他们需要在36个位置进行扫描。激光扫描可捕获视线的所有内容。但是，为了确保详尽的文档，他们从多个角度进行了扫描。每次扫描都代表了拼图的片段，稍后会员会将其拼凑在一起。尽管项目工程师最初计划了一个基于多个项目的项目，以便在更换特定管道和阀门的同时继续操作，但TruePoint能够在一天之内完成数据收集。快速过程还通过减少对几个文档项目的需求节省了资金。此外，由于所有数据都可以立即获得，因此工程师可以制定完整的计划，以减少对未来变更订单的需求。扫描产生了一系列点云，三二维数据集代表该设施的扫描对象。回到Truepoint的总部，随着团队将多点云导入Leica Cyclone软件，工作流程逐渐降低了节奏。然后，为了完整地了解他们组装拼图的植物，记录了点云，并将它们连接到单个数据集中。 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.

进行测量并分析办公室的数据
The engineers were able to scrutinise the data from the comfort of their offices and calculate factors such as the necessary rise over run for the pipes, water flow, and specific measurements. Having all the data at their fingertips enabled them to give a fabricator the exact size and shape of the new pipes they needed. Once they received the pipes, all they had to do on the site was to assemble them; thus, they saved money on manual labour time. As a result, the engineers at the water treatment plant were able to plan their renovations more accurately and comprehensively, increase safety, reduce costs and achieve their goals more quickly. Due to the success of this project, the project manager has now incorporated laser scanning into additional projects.

布鲁斯·鲍迪奇（Bruce Bowditch）撰写