3DTutorial.com

Ok, so where did this summer go?  Honestly, I can’t believe that it’s September already this entire summer has just sort of vaporized all of a sudden.  Since my last post I have been extremely busy and I’m managing several different projects at once, things are a little crazy to say the least.  My research and development work has been a great success so far, the full body 3D scanner is now up and running and despite a few minor teething problems everything now seems stable and ready to go live at last.  I hope to do some production tests with the machine later this week or perhaps the weekend if I can manage the time.  I will let you all know how everything turns out and if possible I will try and post something “interesting” so stay tuned.

Till next time…

Joe Saltzman
Founder/Director
3DTutorial.com

Sorry for the lack of posts, I’m not slacking (promise) I’m just totally swamped with work as usual.  On Monday I managed to get the 3D full body scanner back together again after having taken it to bits so that Rainer Schmidt could machine some new parts for me.  As I told you last time, Rainer made up some new uber heavy duty parts for me and now the machine is as solid as a rock and elephant proof.  As Rainer says “If this thing breaks now — I don’t want to be around” — LOL!  Anyway, I don’t think there is much chance of the rig failing in any way now, the engineering is really solid.

Spent some time on Monday rewiring the machine and once everything was together I ran a few initial start-up tests.  After a slight alignment hiccup I managed to find the source of the problem and correct it after which the calibration went smoothly.  I made a few test scans and the results were quite encouraging so I think I’m almost ready to put this machine on-line at last.  Having said that there are a few more things that I want to do.  I think I can still make a few slight improvements yet and I really want to take care of these things before I go live.  Nothing major to worry about, just a few minor details that will result in better performance so I think it’s worth extra time and effort.

So the machine is working very well and I could not be more pleased with the results.  Last but not least I would like to say a word of special thanks to my friend Rainer Schmidt who has contributed a great deal of skill and engineering expertise to this project — thanks mate!

Till next time…

Joe Saltzman
Founder/Director
3DTutorial.com

Awesome news — all problems have now been solved.  Rainer Schmidt machined all the new components that I required and as always did a better than expected job — thanks Rainer!

So hopefully this weekend if I have the time I will be able to put everything back together and run some tests.  Provided all goes well, I should be ready to go on-line with my 3D full body scanner next week.

Can’t wait!

Till next time…

Joe Saltzman
Founder/Director
3DTutorial.com

I’m getting really close to putting this machine on-line now.  For quite some time now I’ve been putting the full body 3d scanner through a variety of stress tests which have recently revealed a few minor issues.

One thing I’ve learned over the course of the development of this machine is that physics matter.  As I’ve said before when dealing delicate equipment of this size and complexity external forces play a large part both in the design and in the types of problems that are likely to arise.  During testing last week I began to notice that one of the pulleys that drive the automated motion control system had begun to bend under the extreme forces which are applied to the scanning rig.  So it looks like it will be necessary to machine a new part, this time with a much thicker axle.  No big deal really, I will just have to have a new part made and fitted.

Another thing that worries me is the 3 axis head that is currently being used.  I honestly don’t think it is nearly strong enough to deal with the weight of the rig.  Looking at it now, it’s clear that nearly all the forces are being concentrated on a single point and I can easily imagine a failure occurring at this area.  Of course, if that were to happen it would be disastrous because the beam would separate from the rig and bring the camera pods crashing down to the ground.  Obviously such failure is not an option and I can’t risk any chance of that happening so I think it will be necessary to come up with something better in terms of design.  I would feel much better if the attachment point to crossbeam was constructed out of 1/2 inch plate aluminum with hardened aircraft bolts or such like.  Rainer Schmidt is due to come by the studio this afternoon so I will have to discuss the matter with him and see if he has any ideas.

So nothing here is a “show stopper” but these are the types of minor things that still need to get sorted out before I put the full body 3d scanner on-line.  The good news is that I am getting very close to that time now which is very encouraging!

Till next time…

Joe Saltzman
Founder/Director
3DTutorial.com

Here is a picture of the 3D full body scanner that I’ve been working on for so long… you see, it does exist after all

This techno-thing is uber awesome.

Till next time…

Joe Saltzman
Founder/Director
3DTutorial.com

I’ve got very good news.  Last week after a long series of testing I finally managed to prove that I am now able to complete a large field 3D scan of a human body.  It’s taken me years of R&D to get to this point but my tests have now proven beyond any doubt that it is possible for me to do this… at last!

Needless to say I am very happy about these recent technical achievements.

Till next time…

Joe Saltzman
Founder/Director
3DTutorial.com

My back is still giving me some major pain but the good news is that I’ve been able to get back to work and major progress has been made.  Yesterday I managed to run a lot of tests on the system and I’ve learned a great many new and important things.  One of the things I’ve learned is that none of this is easy…let me repeat, 3D scanning and especially large field scanning is not simple or easy by any means and anyone who tells you that it is isn’t telling you the whole story.

Well SIGGRAPH is nearly here so further blog updates are on hold until after the convention.

See you again in a few weeks.

Till next time…

Joe Saltzman
Founder/Director
3DTutorial.com

Good news… the problems that I discovered with my full body 3d scanner have now been solved.  Rainer Schmidt has done some further engineering and machining work to the mechanism and everything is working properly at last - thanks Rainer!

The bad news is that while I am very anxious to continue with my testing the injury to my back is preventing me from doing much of anything.  Today I can at least sit up and do a bit of standing so I am hopeful that if I take it easy that I will be up and back on my feet again as soon as possible.  Still, I don’t dare push it because any further damage to my back and I will be in big trouble.

Till next time…

Joe Saltzman
Founder/Director
3DTutorial.com

Over the weekend I managed to do a severe injury to my back.  At the moment I’m unable to stand, walk or even sit-up for that matter.  To be honest, at the moment I’m laying in bed, flat on my back and doing my best to hit the right keys on my laptop — which isn’t easy or comfortable.

Needless to say I think I’m not going to be working for a week or two — but we will see.

Till next time…

Joe Saltzman
Founder/Director
3DTutorial.com

I been working of the full body scanner all day and I’ve hit a few snags on the experimental machine.  Just when it seemed like I had everything sorted at long last it turns out that I don’t…there are still a few annoying problems that have stopped me dead in my tracks - blast!

For anyone crazy enough to try and build their own large field 3D scanner let me give you a word of advice… it ain’t as easy as you think… in fact, it’s really very difficult…very difficult.  It’s been a very long day so I’m not going to go into too much detail other than to say that when you start engineering equipment of this size, matters of precision, forces and physics all matter… they matter a lot.  What may at first seem like simple problems to solve become very complex when building equipment of this scale and all problems are magnified.

Of course, I am quite confident that I will be able to sort out the last few details… but you know the old saying “the devil is in the detail”.

Till next time…

Joe Saltzman
Founder/Director
3DTutorial.com