One of the key areas that our scanning and engineering teams discuss and clarify with our clients, is the accuracy and resolution required for the scanning and reverse engineering of each particular project.
Accuracy and resolution are two of the important factors required in deciding the best approach and methodology to be applied in projects involving 3D scanning by our scanning and engineering design teams. They are thought by many to be one and the same, but this is not entirely true. The difference between the resolution and accuracy of the scanner’s measuring system can be understood as follows.
- Accuracy is a parameter that allows us to understand how closely the surface information at each measurement point of the 3D scanned model reflects true physical measurements of the object being scanned .
- Resolution refers to the level of detail that can be captured in the scan. It is usually measured in millimetres and can be expressed as the smallest possible distance between measuring points gained from the 3D scanner.
Each 3D scanning model is made up of between several hundred to even several million discrete measurement points. That is why the higher the scanning resolution, the more of these points are captured by the scanner. In such cases as their are shorter distances between the points, more details of the object being scanned are acquired, and ultimately recreated in the scan model.
While accuracy is important for ensuring that the scanned data is a true representation of the physical object, resolution is important for capturing very small details on the object.
In industrial applications such as quality inspection or reverse engineering, metrologically confirmed scanning accuracy may be the most important factor, whilst for the digitisation of museum and historic artefacts high resolution could be the most significant factor.
Many clients ask for accuracy without necessarily understanding fully the importance of resolution. The team of experts at PES Scanning can advise clients on the appropriate level of accuracy and resolution for their specific needs, ensuring that they receive data that meets their requirements while keeping cost, data management, and ultimate end use in mind.
If you have any questions or would like to learn more about the benefits of adopting digital twins, then please contact us or call to discuss things further with our team.
Copyright: PES Performance 2023