Influence of the material on the accuracy of optical 3D digitalisation

Abstract

In recent years, optical digitalisation is increasingly being used for the inspection of the dimensional qualities of parts. Different products from various materials used in 3D printers are scanned - metal, plastic, composite or special materials. The surface may be of a different colour or roughness, may be glossy or matte. Practice suggests that the surface properties of the scanned part can significantly affect both the ability to scan and the quality of the obtained 3D model. This paper introduces research that is aim at and motivated to assess the impact of different workpiece materials on the accuracy of optical non-contact 3D digitalisation. For these purposes, almost thirty samples of different materials, colours and surfaces were produced. Scanning was performed using generically different optical 3D scanners - the Atos II and Atos III TripleScan. The data obtained from the digitalisation was assessed based on the percentage scanning of the surface and, in terms of the dimensional characteristics, a total of five different dimensions. The results obtained when scanning the samples with and without using an anti-reflective coating were compared. The research has shown that some materials, especially used in the additive production, are seemingly well-scannable, but the dimensional values are distorted.