Project Snapshot - ShapeShot Bust

We scanned contest winner Kyle with our ShapeShot 3D facial capture system to create his prize bronze bust.

More NextGEN-M Details

Hold the Date for NextGEN-M on Friday, April 27, 2012

If you are interested in rapid technologies and smart manufacturing this event is for you. We are bringing together manufacturers, designers, entrepreneurs, educators, techies, and all who see a future for rapid tech in the Baltimore Region. You will learn how rapid tech is being applied in industries to include manufacturing, forensic, medical, art, and military. Technologies include 3D imaging, 3D designing & modeling, 3D printing (additive manufacturing), laser cutting and CNC milling (subtractive manufacturing).

You can learn all this and more at NextGEN-M: Rapid Tech for Make + Manufacture on Friday, April 27, 2012 (see link for speakers, details and registration).

This full day event is designed to:

1) Show you rapid technologies (exhibits)

2) Introduce you to companies using this technology

3) Allow you to talk with experts in the field, and

4) Invite you to be part of the constellation of rapid tech leaders and learners in the Greater Baltimore Region.

Do you have rapid tech to showcase? Exhibitor space is available. See website for details.

For any questions, feel free to contact Michael Raphael 410-998-0880, or Mike Galiazzo of RMI at 410-771-8111.

January/February Newsletter

Before we begin sharing amazing new projects in 2012, we decided to take a quick look back at some of the best stories and blog posts from 2011. In the first newsletter of the year members of our staff share their favorites.

Michael's Pick: Scanning Beams from the World Trade Center for the 9/11 Memorial of Maryland.

Charlie's Pick: We scanned a half finished structure for a new Medical Center to help create a Building Information Model (BIM).

Mike's Pick: Since introducing Mantis Vision's F5 we've used it for a host of applications -- scanning movie sets, people, vehicles, and especially facilities. This article discusses utilizing the F5 scanner for scanning structures and facilities.

Harry's Pick: The Andy Monument project is a great example of using body scanning, high-resolution scanning, digital portrait sculpting, and artist-directed model modifications in a sculptural project.

Sara's Pick: To create the Emeco 111 Navy chair, we laser scanned the famous classic Navy chair to aid in the creation of a new mold. With a new mold, Emeco was able to create a version of the iconic chair created from recycled Coke bottles.

Make sure to sign up for Direct Dimensions' newsletter, we'll be bringing you some great new stories and features in 2012!

CMSC Call for Papers Deadline March 1

Just a reminder that the deadline on CMSC's Call for Papers is March 1, 2012.



From CMSC's website:
The organization welcomes abstracts for presentations and technical papers submitted by metrology professionals from leading manufacturers, science laboratories, and academia. Suggested topics include industry best practices, scientific research and developments, and successful applications of 3D coordinate measurement systems. The CMSC is the only North American conference dedicated solely to users of portable, high-precision measurement technology used to inspect manufactured and assembled components on the factory floor.

Important Deadlines for Submission and Publication:

Abstract Submission Deadline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . March 1, 2012
Notification of Acceptance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . March 15, 2012
Technical Papers Due . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May 15, 2012
Presentations Due. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June 15, 2012
Final Paper/Presentation Revisions Deadline . . . . . . July 1, 2012
CMSC Conference Dates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . July 16 -20, 2012

For more information about the 2012 CMSC “Call for Papers,” visit the CMSC website or contact Michael Raphael, Technical Presentations Coordinator at presentations@cmsc.org.

Presidents Day in 3D

In honor of Presidents Day we present Four Presidential 3D projects:

1) During the last election we helped renowned cartoonist KAL create a digital Obama cartoon by laser scanning and modeling one of his sculptures.




2)When a portion of George Washington's Campsite at Valley Forge began to erode, we were called in to scan the site to aid in its preservation and excavation.


3) A documentary film crew relied on our 3D scanning of the Lincoln life mask when they wanted to compare the measurements of Lincoln's actual face with artistic renderings and daguerreotypes.


4) George Washington gave his resignation speech at the Maryland Statehouse in Annapolis which we documented for preservation during an extensive renovation.

Exciting Events and Contests at RAPID 2012

The RAPID show and 3D Imaging conference is one of the largest events in our industry. Each year they continue to add more amazing sessions, exhibits and even competitions.

In 2010, the show added a contemporary art gallery, specifically for art created using 3D modeling and additive manufacturing. It was such a success that 2012 will mark the third year for the gallery. SME is accepting submissions for the 2012 gallery until February 28th.

Reflecting the ever growing list of fields that utilize 3D design and additive manufacturing, this year RAPID will also feature a 3D Printing Fashion Show. Interested parties can submit their designs until February 28th.

This year will also introduce a new competition for students (both high school and university levels) called the Design for Direct Digital Manufacturing Competition. From the RAPID website:

The 2012 Design for Direct Digital Manufacturing Competition has begun!
Using the capabilities of direct digital manufacturing (DDM), can you and your team develop a new and innovative product?
Can you and your team integrate DDM into a product or subassembly that effectively illustrates the potential impact of additive manufacturing?

If you can answer YES to both questions, this competition is for YOU!

Make sure to check out the above events and, of course, stop by and see Direct Dimensions at RAPID 2012/3D Imaging Conference.

Training Future Users of 3D Technologies

At Direct Dimensions we're pretty passionate about spreading the word on how 3D scanning and modeling can contribute to numerous industries.

This often results in tours and mini-training sessions with diverse groups that include artists, engineers, business organizations and often students from various disciplines.

Last week we had the opportunity to hold a training class for a group from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. These were students from the Art as Applied to Medicine program who will eventually use 3D scanning and modeling to aid in Ophthalmological Illustration, Medical Sculpture, and Anaplastology (the creation of facial and somato prosthetics).



In the above image Direct Dimensions Modeler Derek LeBrun and JHU Professor Juan Garcia demonstrate various modeling techniques for the class. The skills that these students are learning will one day enable them to help create new faces, fingers, ears and toes for patients.

A great example of what they will be doing is a project that Direct Dimensions worked on with JHU and Juan Garcia where we helped create a new nose for a solider that had been injured in Iraq. Check out the video below to see how 3D techniques and anaplastology changed the life of a soldier.

3D Scan of MLK Memorial Helps Create a Beautiful Commercial

When VFX firm MassMarket was creating their "Table of Brotherhood" commercial for Chevrolet they needed footage of the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, DC. The monument however, had not yet been unveiled.
So how could they create the necessary footage when there was nothing to film?
Through the magic of film (and 3D scanning and modeling)!
With our long history of working with scale models and artists' maquettes, Direct Dimensions and our 3D laser scanning technology were the perfect fit to help with this problem.
We scanned and modeled an approximately 4 foot tall scale model of the Memorial. With the file created MassMarket was able to insert an exact digital copy of the final 30 foot monument.
See the final ad below (the 3D model appears at approximately 21 seconds in).

Save the Date: April 27, 2012

Are you interested in rapid technologies like 3D scanning, printing, and modeling (You wouldn't be reading this blog if you weren't)? If you live in the Mid-Atlantic region then you are in luck!

This year marks the first annual NextGEN-M Rapid Technologies for Make & Manufacture event. This regional manufacturing institute will include panel sessions, short presentations and vendor exhibits all focused on Rapid Technologies for manufacturing.

NextGEN-M will happen on Friday, April 27, 2012 (7:00 am – 4:00 pm) at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, in Timonium, MD. Registration for this event opens on February 1st, 2012.

Stay tuned for more details!

Case Study: Warehouse Renovation

Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse is a Baltimore-based developer whose self-described aim is to transform America’s cities, one neighborhood at a time. They have facilitated extensive community restoration and urban growth re-development in cities like Baltimore, Washington DC, Boston, and beyond.

One of their typical restoration projects was the historic Clipper Mill facility in downtown Baltimore. In its day Clipper Mill was one of the largest machine manufacturing shops and foundries in the country. But, of course like so many old urban industrial sites, it lay abandoned and in ruins for decades.


Scanning Clipper Mill: Large-Volume Scanner Captures Large Interior Space

While much of the site and surrounding area has been transformed by Struever over the past 10 years into exciting new commercial and retail spaces, art studios & restaurants, and even residential units, one old building remains undeveloped in its original abandoned state. Known as the Tractor Building, this is the next project slated for redevelopment.

During the restoration planning phase, Struever encountered design challenges that could be solved using cutting-edge 3D laser scanning technologies. In order to take advantage of historic tax credits by maintaining original design elements, complex features such as the large pane windows, structural beams, and complex roof trussing needed to be accurately measured to be incorporated within the new architectural designs. To turn the large open warehouse-like building into the multi-story residential and office space they had envisioned, Struever required a detailed dimensional inspection of the as-built building in order to create the new development plans.

With nearly 15 years of experience with thousands of complex 3D measurement problems of virtually all type and size, Direct Dimensions was up to the task. Direct Dimensions team members Glenn Woodburn and Jon Wood travelled to the Clipper Mill facility with a FARO LS Laser Scanner, a long-range, large-volume spherical scanner that can digitize vast open spaces with precision very quickly. Over the course of a single day, they performed 23 scans of the facility from different positions, each taking about 10 minutes. In order to capture the complex roof truss structures, the portable scanner was mounted inside a lift and raised into the air for some of the scans.



The scanner, mounted on a tripod like a camera, collected raw data in the form of a dense 3D ‘point cloud’ of millions of coordinates of the elements within the facility. In the end, these 3D laser images formed a high-definition survey of the entire building space, a process that could take weeks using conventional survey measurement tools.



Upon returning to the Direct Dimensions facility in Owings Mills, the raw data scans were loaded into PolyWorks software and then coordinated and aligned together to form a single point cloud of the entire space. Even at this initial stage, any measurement can be extracted from any location within the entire facility as if using a virtual tape measure.



In addition, this dense point cloud can quickly be sliced to cut sections at any location to create traditional architectural drawing styles. In order to help with initial planning, the architects worked real-time with our engineers during this initial processing to obtain desired dimensions quickly. This process proved much faster, more accurate, and more comprehensive than the conventional techniques using a long tape or even a single point distance laser – and all with no ladders.



During a second phase of data analysis, Direct Dimensions produced multiple 2D “as-built” drawings from the laser scan data to accurately document the Tractor Building’s exact interior measurements. This drawing package included plan views and elevations with the locations and configuration of the historical structural elements that would remain in the new design for the space. These traditional architectural drawings provide the as-built blueprint for the designers and engineers at Struever to efficiently redevelop the space within the context of the site’s actual structural elements.