In the past few years alone, advancements in 3D technology have vastly improved the field, especially when it comes to 3D scanners. In fact, the forensics department of the Lancashire Police in the United Kingdom have adopted Faro Technologies’ 3D laser scanners to improve the accuracy of their forensic documentation.
In a recent article, Richard Hek of the Lancashire Police was quoted saying that the Faro Focus 3D Laser Scanner “enabled our forensics team to quickly and accurately capture the crime scene in 3D. The faithfully created 3D reconstruction and record of the crime scene provided multiple advantages, including allowing the case’s investigators to gather importance evidence, substantiate witness’ testimonies and to scrutinise and test a range of theories related to the investigation.”
Faro Technologies’ advanced and high quality products are a huge reason why they hold the largest share in the Global 3D Scanning Market, aiding growth at an overall CAGR of 13.81 percent for the 2014-2018 period.
Faro Technologies, as well as many other key vendors like Surphaser (Basis Software Inc.), Creaform and Konica Minolta Inc., all manufacture different types of 3D Scanners which are applicable across many different fields, catering to more and more fields every day. The two most common types are:
- 3D White Light Scanners
A 3D white light scanner, also known as a structured light-based 3D scanner, is used for measuring an object in 3D using projected light patterns. This type of scanner helps in obtaining a complete view of the object and provides a high level of detail with high accuracy.
- 3D Laser Scanners
A 3D laser scanner uses a laser beam to scan objects. It can either be in the form of a handheld scanner or mounted on a tripod.
Recently, hospitals have adopted 3D laser scanners while retrofitting, modernizing or expanding their infrastructure, which will save them a lot of time and money. 3D scanning collects accurate models of the entire hospital or specific area that needs to be renovated. In addition, it obtains accurate maps of the entire piping and plumbing setup without disrupting the other major activities of medical facilities.
This enables the project manager to distribute detailed maps to sub-contractors for referencing where specific utilities are to be installed. Thus, complete 3D models will reduce the design time and construction costs, which currently account for 3-10 percent of the total infrastructure project costs.
Though the advancements in the 3D scanning market have provided countless benefits for end users, vendors are finding it increasingly difficult to compete in the market.
Currently, the price of scanners is increasing as a result of the high price of the software and hardware used in laser scanning devices. The price of the software is increasing significantly as a result of the increase in support and upgrading cost. However, several vendors are trying to provide the final products at low prices, despite the increase in the cost of raw materials, in order to gain market share. This is resulting in intense competition and price wars among the vendors, thereby reducing their profit margins.
In order to combat this, companies are focusing on customer retention and customer satisfaction with the development of high-quality products. This has sparked several developing countries across the globe to investing in 3D scanning technology to meet the domestic and international demand for quality product development.
The adoption of 3D scanning enables them to effectively design products with better quality and accuracy. Thus, several vendors, like Faro Technologies, are aiming to reach out to a broad range of customers. Such vendors conduct seminars, participate in industrial exhibitions, have tie-ups with educational institutions, and exhibit their products along with the products of machine tool manufacturers. These efforts are making 3D scanning technology applications more well-known, in turn creating a higher demand which will continue to fuel market growth in the years to come.
For more information, view our 2014-2018 Global 3D Scanning Market report.
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