A Perspective on 3D Scanning and Digital Modeling

If you are going to be at Geomagic Convergence ‘09 next week, make sure to stop by our booth and say hello. You’ll also want to make sure to catch Michael Raphael’s presentation:

A Perspective on 3D Scanning and Digital Modeling

The applications for 3D scanning and point cloud modeling technologies are growing around us at an increasing rate. These solutions are gaining awareness and adoption by more people and in more ways than ever before. The use of 3D models made from existing physical objects is fast becoming the expected means for manufacturing, visualization, analysis, documentation, and even our entertainment. This presentation provides a high level perspective of 3D scanning and digital modeling applications and technologies across all industries. Presented by Michael Raphael, founder and president of Direct Dimensions, Inc.

If scheduling conflicts prevent you from attending Convergence and seeing the presentation live, then make sure to check back here next week where we will have Michael’s presentation available in downloadable format.

DDI to present at CAA 2009

Direct Dimensions is proud to announce that we will be participating in the International Conference on Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA) as the Exhibitors and Workshop chair.

The conference, hosted by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and The University of Virginia, is to be held from March 22-26, 2009 in Williamsburg, Virginia. This year’s theme will be “Making History Interactive,” and will be reflected in both the conference activities and the unique venue. As an organization, CAA is dedicated to the application of digital technologies that make it possible to access and investigate our cultural heritage in new ways. Using digital technologies, archaeologists can interact with the historical record, to push the boundaries of interpretation and further our understanding of the past.

Williamsburg served as the capital of Virginia from 1699 to 1780 and today is the site of the nation’s largest outdoor living history museum. Founded in 1926, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation seeks to engage people in the exploration of the revolutionary events and ideals that led to the establishment of a new nation. In addition to the standard conference activities, attendees will be able to participate in workshops and courses related to digital applications, take behind-the-scenes tours to learn how history is made interactive, and experience what life was like in the 18th century.

Exhibitor space at CAA 2009 is still available. For more information, including registration details, please visit www.caa2009.org.

Attention Geomagic Users

DDI Lead Designer Jeff Mechlinski presenting at last year's Geomagic Convergence

The Geomagic Convergence Conference is a three day summit designed specifically for DSSP (Digital Shape Sampling and Processing). 3D technology experts and industry leaders from around the world will gather together to share know-how, exchange ideas and best practices. The goal is to provide you with the knowledge, new ideas and a wealth of business contacts to enable you and your company to succeed in the market place.

DDI president and chief engineer Michael Raphael will be a featured speaker at the conference, which runs February 24-26, 2009 in Savannah, GA. If you are a Direct Dimensions Geomagic customer, you should seriously consider attending this event. Contact us for further information and please visit the Convergence '09 website for more information.

Five More Patriotic Projects

We had a blast pulling together January’s “Presidential” newsletter but even we were overwhelmed by how many important projects we’ve worked on in the realm of American history. We couldn’t fit them all in our newsletter so here are five more that we love, in reverse order:



5. The Liberty Bell / The Normandy Liberty Bell - DDI has had the privilege to laser scan Philadelphia's Liberty Bell on numerous occasions. The data we acquired during these scans has been used in several projects, including exact and modified replicas. In 2004, we were commissioned to help create a replica bell without the iconic crack to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the August 6th, 1944 D-Day invasion of Normandy Beach by Allied forces. Following a ceremony in Normandy, France on this anniversary weekend, the completed bell was returned to the U.S. and now rests in Philadelphia.



4. Louis XVI Portrait Frame - DDI had the opportunity to scan a priceless painted portrait frame that had been gifted by France's King Louis XVI to George Washington. A representative section of the ornate frame was 3D laser scanned and the resulting data was digitally modeled into a format suitable for replication. A foam prototype of the frame was produced initially and a milled replica is to be created some in several different materials.



3. “Young Ben” Franklin - DDI laser scanned a three-foot tall bronze bust of a youthful Ben Franklin. The sculpture, which is displayed in the University of Pennsylvania's on-campus bookstore, shows the founding father as a young man. The data captured in the laser scan was digitally modeled and used to produce high resolution prototype miniatures of the bust. These prototypes were then used as casting patterns for 8" and 12" bronze replicas.



2. The Lincoln Memorial – Two months after 9/11, Direct Dimensions laser scanned portions of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC for historical documentation of the ornate design. We were able to capture the marble sculpture of Abraham Lincoln himself, as well as the columns and engravings surrounding him. The scans were aligned together to produce an integrated digital model of the monument that can be used to exactly reproduce the original model.



1. Riding In Style – And for the neatest Presidential-related project, in late 2004, DDI scanned the inside seating area of a unique, highly armored vehicle in Washington, D.C.. We'd love to spill our secret further because this was seriously one of the coolest projects we’ve ever done, but we’re not allowed to say any more about this particular project – for obvious reasons.

You can read about more projects here.

Mattie Stepanek Follow-up

Photo by Ed Tenney

Last week, Oprah Winfrey aired a touching remembrance of Mattie Stepanek on her show, The Oprah Winfrey Show. The segment included the October 2008 dedication of the Mattie J.T. Stepanek Park in Rockville, Maryland, including footage of the Mattie sculpture which Direct Dimensions helped sculptor Jimilu Mason to produce.

Her tribute also included a beautifully-done video tribute to the young poet, which can be viewed on her memorial page, Remembering Mattie.

You can read more about the Mattie Stepanek Memorial sculpture in our blog archives, or in our DDI project portfolio.

2008 End of the Year Wrap-Up

by Michael Raphael

Innovation has no map, no compass, no clock, and no finish line. In the late 1980s, 3D measurement technology was in its infancy. It was cumbersome, expensive, unreliable, and there were few options from which to choose. As an engineer at a large aerospace manufacturer, I saw an incredible need for new 3D tools for my work in design, manufacturing, and inspection.

By 1995, having helped develop a revolutionary new portable 3D measurement tool called the Faro Arm, I was inspired to start a company dedicated to the development, application, and proliferation of advanced 3D measurement technologies. More than a company, we created an environment which inspired innovation; a place where employees, customers, and vendors accepted hard challenges “because they could.”

Year after year we have been asked by our customers to push the limits of 3D technologies to solve increasingly complex problems for an increasingly broad spectrum of industries and applications.

Our business has essentially evolved into a working R&D lab, equipped with advanced equipment and funded by the services and products we provide to our customers. Everyday I am amazed by the diversity and depth of projects, applications, and customers.

As we continue to take on new challenges, new employees, and new equipment, we will continue to discover better ways to solve 3D problems. What was nearly impossible 10 years ago, and took months just a few years ago, we can now accomplish in a few hours. Our innovation and perseverance allows us now to introduce our new fast, affordable, and accurate 3D scanning and modeling service perfect for virtually all industries.

One such example is the new Surphaser spherical laser scanner from Basis Software. This scanner is as exciting to me as the Faro Arm was twenty years ago when it was conceived for industrial applications. As the only product with a mid-range focus, the Surphaser can capture objects from the size of cars to airplanes with the ease of use of the long range scanners and the accuracy and resolution of the close range systems. This scanner has become the solution to challenging problems we’ve faced for years.

Welcome to our new monthly newsletter where we will be highlighting our interesting 3D scanning and modeling projects and products. We hope that you will take a moment to review this information and provide feedback to us.

I encourage you to visit our website frequently as we update it daily. Nearly 14 years of innovation has allowed Direct Dimensions to provide you with the best 3D solutions.

Thanks for another great year!

Michael Raphael, President & Chief Engineer, Direct Dimensions, Inc.

Gort The Robot

It's not every day that DDI gets to digitize a celebrity. We've scanned Ray Lewis, Abraham Lincoln (well, sort of), and... Gort the Alien? If one of Earth's most famous extraterrestrial visitors doesn't merit a mention, I can't imagine what would.

Gort was first spotted in the 1951 science fiction classic, 'The Day the Earth Stood Still,' and remains to this day an iconic image of sci-fi lore. DDI scanned a small toy replica of Gort for replication using a Perceptron 3D laser mounted on a FARO Arm. The data was used to make a 'water-tight' digital model that can be used for prototyping and replication.


Um, so if an army of identical Gort aliens invade to mark the opening of today's remake, please don't tell anyone it's all our fault.

For more information on this project, check out Gort in the DDI project portfolio.

Preserve, Conserve, Restore

Lately, one of the buzzwords here at Direct Dimensions has been “preservation.” We've had our hands full with challenging and unique projects to conserve and replicate historical treasures. Last week, we worked on a project for the US National Park Service, and we also had a team of engineers on location at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

We believe that our innovative 3D technologies are perfectly suited to preservation applications not only because they are fast and highly accurate, but because they are also non-contact methods of acquiring data for posterity. Previous methods of preservation, such as making castings for replication, have required the application of wax or plaster and pressure that might cause damage to the often-antique item being restored. These methods are often expensive and require many hours of hand-finishing to create a reasonable facsimile. Using 3D laser scanning, DDI can collect that data quickly, and without any physical damage to the subject. Digital modeling can restore details which time and nature have eroded. More than just a close copy, DDI can also provide the data to make an exact replica in a wide selection of materials.

As we are committed to historical preservation, DDI has worked on many digital conservation projects over the years. We have scanned the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, as well as the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery, architectural elements of the Maryland State House, and even the Liberty Bell itself. For more information on our efforts towards historical preservation, check out our project portfolio on art and architecture!

DDI in National Park Service's Journal of Heritage Stewardship

Direct Dimensions recently had the honor of being featured in the Summer 2008 issue of CRM: The Journal of Heritage Stewardship, published by the US National Park Service. The article was “The Restoration of Monumental Church in Richmond, VA,” which detailed the immense historical preservation project undertaken by the NPS and John Milner Associates, Inc. to return the landmark monument to its former glory.

Monumental Church, designed and built by American architect Robert Mills between 1812 and 1814, is one of our oldest and most distinctive churches, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as being a United States National Historic Landmark. It is, in part, a memorial to an earlier tragedy, marking a tragic theater fire that claimed 72 lives on December 26, 1811. As Mills was particularly concerned with fireproofing the new building, much of the site was designed in marble. However, the increase of atmospheric pollutants has corroded the marble, and by the turn of the 21^st century, Monumental Church required restoration.

As part of this preservation process, Direct Dimensions was brought in to scan the church's signature marble funerary monument for replication. Using data acquired during the scan, a precise digital replica was created of the complete monument that could be exactly reproduced in marble using cutting edge computerized milling technology. This process was documented in the film Saving Grace- Resurrecting American History, which was written and directed by Emmy winning writer/director Eric Futterman.

For more on DDI's involvement in the Monumental Church restoration, visit our Featured Projects Page or the Historic Richmond Foundation's page on the project.

DDI Creates Models for AFL Commercial

On Tuesday, November 11, commercial editing studio Eye Candy visited Direct Dimensions. They had been tapped by the Arena Football League (AFL) to create a 30-second commercial advertising the sports franchise. Eye Candy plans to include an 8-second digital animation during the spot, which will feature fifteen football players in a packed arena. To do that, they require the most precise digital models featuring both exact detail and true-to-life textures.

In order to capture the data that would be needed to make these models, DDI scanned Eye Candy’s actor, in full AFL uniform, with our most accurate digitizers over the course of four hours and 50 total scans.

After a rapid turn-around of one week, DDI will deliver to Eye Candy high-resolution textured polygonal models that they can then use to create their animations. Be sure to check back soon to see the finished commercial!