Video Case Study: NASA F15b Prototype

Case Study - Olympic Sculpture

Like the rest of the country (and the world) we are excited for the 2012 Summer Olympics to begin this Friday! While we haven't had a chance to do any scanning for this year's Olympics we have used to our 3D scanning expertise to support past Olympic Games.

 3D Measurements Enable Safe Installation of Olympic Sculpture

 A very early project in the summer of 1995, combined sculptural art and engineering, and therefore seems particularly appropriate to discuss this month during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

The Olympics are not only a showcase of athletic prowess, but also serve as a chance for the hosting city to highlight their cultural scene through art and architecture. In preparation for the 1996 summer games in Atlanta, the Olympic committee commissioned multiple major works of sculpture for Olympic Park.

One of these pieces, called World Events by British artist Tony Cragg, incited much enthusiasm but also a certain concern for safety. The plan for World Events called for the sculpture, a mesh of human figures creating the form of a man holding a ball, to be 26 feet tall. The complexity of the design made for an intriguing example of public sculpture, but at 26 feet tall the committee had to ensure its structural integrity before installing it in Olympic Park.

To ensure the integrity of the final sculpture, calculations needed to be based on a 5-foot tall bronze scale model of the design, also by Cragg. Structural engineering firm Uzun & Case was hired to analyze the sculpture and they turned to engineers at Georgia Tech to help with the project. Given the complexity of the hand-made nature of the piece (the human mesh forms, though similar, were not exact) the engineers could not make their calculations and recommendations with certainty.


After attempting more conventional measurement methods, they found and contacted Direct Dimensions in Baltimore, MD to provide an accurate three-dimensional computer model of World Events. The goal was to use the 3D CAD model with finite element software to perform the structural analysis.

Michael Raphael traveled to Atlanta in the summer of 1995 to perform the measurements using a portable FARO Arm. In just 2 days, he digitized each of the joints of the mesh and captured the dimensional properties for each of the parts within the model. The resulting 3D computer model was then used by Uzun & Case to determine that the sculpture was structurally sound.

The accurate 3D data also provided an unexpected benefit. Based on the data the engineering team noticed an area where a slight change could also lead to cost savings in the creation of the 26 foot tall sculpture.

With the help of Direct Dimensions, Mr. Cragg was able to implement his vision, with cost savings, in time for the opening of Olympic Park.

The sculpture still stands today as a focal point of the park, enjoyed by thousands of visitors each year.

CMSC 2012

This week we're at the 28th annual CMSC conference, taking place in New Orleans, LA. You can visit us at Booth 307 and see the amazing F5 scanner in action.



If you can't make it, make sure to follow us on twitter for pictures and updates from the conference.

Happy 4th of July!

Over the years we've posted several stories on major American holidays (4th of July, Memorial Day, Inauguration day). We thought we'd point you to several earlier posts that are full of Patriotic 3D stories. Enjoy!

 We 3D scanned and modeled the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery to document the deteriorating monument.

We've done several "Presidential" projects over the years, from scanning a sculptural Obama for a digital political cartoon to the room where Washington gave his farewell address.

Direct Dimensions 3D scanned and imaged the Lincoln Memorial for the United States Park Service to demonstrate how laser scanning can help preserve national monuments.

Other patriotic projects include several scans of the liberty bell (including the infamous crack) and a frame given to George Washington by Louis XVI.

We  hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July!

3D Scanning Newsletter - Summer Edition

Our 3D scanning summer newsletter is full of great stories!

Scanning Bronze Sculptures for Museums: Recently Direct Dimensions worked with museum curators at The Walters Art Museum and The Johns Hopkins Mind/Brain Institute to 3D laser scan and 3D print several bronze sculpture replicas for the groundbreaking exhibit “Touch and the Enjoyment of Sculpture."

Facility Scanning: This story is a great example of how we used lasers to capture and 3D model a complicated MEP space within an aging historic building for renovation into new modern living spaces.

Reverse Engineering Aging Aircraft Components: Digitizing and reverse engineering aging Navy aircraft cargo door seals extends the life of the aircraft.

Laser Scanning Race Car Seat: Laser Scanning and 3D imaging this complex prototype is a perfect solution for manufacture.

Make sure to sign up for our 3D scanning newsletter to get the latest industry news and cast studies.

Free Sample Model - Trilobite Fossil

Using an extremely accurate structured light scanner, we were able to capture precise details of this trilobite fossil. You can download the sample model now!

Product Spotlight: The Surphaser HSX Laser Scanner

Known for its unsurpassed accuracy, speed, and ease-of-use, the Surphaser is ideal for rapidly capturing as-built objects of mid-range size including cars, planes, military vehicles, boats, monuments, rooms, buildings, and even people! Applications include reverse engineering, quality control, historical preservation, architecture documentation, and forensic reconstruction.

The Surphaser line of scanners incorporates an adaptable user interface to capture specific data areas. And the software exports accurate 3D data sets with little noise to any major post processing software applications such as PolyWorks, Geomagic, Rapidform, Rhino3D, or others.

Surphaser products are deployed worldwide, delivering unparalleled precision and value in 3D scanning. Direct Dimensions has performed many demonstration projects with this exciting new tool.

Read more about the Surphaser on our website and even download free sample data!

Memorial Day: Tomb of the Unknowns

This morning, in commemoration of Memorial Day, President Obama laid a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknowns, a monument to American soldiers who have died in the service of their country without their remains being identified.

The ceremonial wreath is laid every Memorial Day and the Tomb attracts over four million visitors a year. Visitors to the monument will notice large cracks running horizontally through the tomb. First noticed in the 60's, the cracks sparked a still ongoing conversation about how to repair a national monument.

Direct Dimensions was asked to laser scan the Tomb of the Unknowns to document the existing damage to the monument.

The data can be used for documentation, preservation or even replication of the monument. Because of our 3D scanning, a digital record now exists of the Tomb of the Unknowns.

In addition to a digital record, the data can also be used to "repair" the cracks in a 3D model and then be used to create a perfect replication of the Tomb should that ever be necessary.

3D Scanning and Imaging Helps Create Special Effects in Men in Black III

It's been a busy cinematic month at Direct Dimensions!

We've been out on location 3D scanning and modeling actors and props for some upcoming films, last week The Dictator (which we scanned and modeled some props for) opened, and this weekend Men in Black III opens.

We had a great time working on this movie and one of the main reasons why was that we were able to utilize the amazing skill sets of our digital modeling team. We scanned and imaged actors, costumes, props and major set pieces as well. It was a challenging and rewarding project and we can't wait to see the final results when the film opens tomorrow.

While we can't go into too much detail, we can say that many of our efforts can be seen in the below trailer:

Rapid 2012

This week we're at Rapid 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia and we're participating in several aspects of the conference.

You can visit us at Booth 312 where we are demonstrating the handheld F5 scanner and the ShapeShot 3D Face Scanning system.

Our president, Michael Raphael, gave a talk on the state of the 3D Imaging industry in which he discussed trends, demand factors and growth. Michael also serves as the chairperson for SME's 3D Imaging Tech Group.

If you weren't able to attend Rapid this year, you can follow us on Twitter, @dirdim, to catch updates and images from the conference.