Part Fabrication Using a Dimension Elite

A very nice gift, my loving wife got me this RC helicopter on her trip to Japan. Being my first remote controlled aircraft, I naturally crashed and burned several times before finally breaking a stabilizer connecting rod. I was able to model the part in Solid Works and fabricate it in ABS plastic using our Dimension Elite FDM. The part is very small. Only 2mm wide, 14 mm long, and .7 mm thick (about 4 layers); any smaller and it wouldn't have worked.

"We can rebuild him — We have the technology" - Richard Anderson, The Six Million Dollar Man

Blending High Resolution Features in a Low Resolution 3D Scan

3D scanning is a memory intensive process. Typically, as your resolution increases the scanning volume decreases. With a little work, you can patch high resolution 3D images into a low resolution 3D image to create a large 3D model with high feature detail.



Using our REVscan 3D scanner, http://um3d.dc.umich.edu/resources/hardware/res_hardware_laserscanner.html, I captured the 3D geometry of a 12" high bust. Overall, the scan turned out nice but detail was lost in the face, especially around the eyes.



Reducing the volume box allows for a greater resolution scan. The Handyscan allows you to resize and move the bounding box while retaining positional data making part alignment a snap. The higher resolution captures more detail but positional markers become noticeable.



Using Magics by Materialize I can cut away positional markers from the high resolution scan of the face. I also cut the face away from the low resolution scan of the bust but keep the surfaces of the positional markers cut away from the high resolution face scan.



With the low resolution scan of the face and positional markers out of the way, I stitch the high resolution face scan to the low resolution bust without interference from the larger facets of the bust while retaining the geometry of the face where the positional markers were removed. In this photo, the difference in facet resolution between the high and low resolution scans is very noticeable.



Polygon reduction followed by a soothing operation produced a nicely decimated surface mesh.



Bad edges, inverted normals, and overlapping triangles are resolved using the surface mesh repair tools provided in Magics to create a 3D model ready for visualization or rapid prototyping.

Synthetic Potato

On a side note, I love the Disney movie TRON! The evil MCP used a transporter to digitized and imprison Flynn in the memory banks of a computer where he was to compete in the games until his eventual de-resolution.

In an earlier project, I used our Handy Scan 3D laser scanner to generate a digital representation of a potato. The work was for an Architecture student who wanted to reproduced the model using a starch material in a z310 rapid prototyping machine; the irony! Other strange projects include rusty dented car hoods, trash bag full of Elmer's glue and play doe in the form of X's and O's. I have no idea what the 3D models were used for but sometimes it is best not to ask.

How much does it cost to drive a 19 year old Porsche?

Let me introduce you to my 1991 Porsche 944s2.

I purchased it in February and drove it home in a snow storm. It's my third Porsche. Previously I had a 85.5 944 with a 3 speed automatic. Before that I had a 1975 2.0 914 that I purchased while stationed in Italy. I don't know why, but I just like them!

I had dreamed about owning a 928 for years. I wasn't happy with the 85.5 944 but as a young family man, I couldn't justify the expense. I sold the 85.5 to focus on college with the intent of purchasing a 928 when I finished. After obtaining my goal a few years back I finally decided that the time was right but I found my tall upper body didn't fit into the 928! I didn't remember being so cramped in the 944 so I found a turbo model that was listed nearby. I fit perfectly and immediately fell in love again! Believe it or not, the 944 offers a lot more passenger room than the bigger 928! The particular 944 turbo had tons of power but everything was worn out! Not an honest car as the dealer claimed the car had 60k miles. It was a grey market car imported from Canadian with a U.S. spec speedo???

My S2 had a 102,000 miles on it when I got it. The car is in good condition, much better than the turbo, but had no service history. Other than some minor scratches, it is unmolested and completely stock.

Shortly after purchasing the car I replaced a leaky oil cooler and had the timing belt serviced at the Porsche dealer. I don't dare attempt such work as the 16 vale engines are very expensive to replace! BTW, Porsche warranties their work/parts for 2 years unlimited miles! I also replaced the tires with Yokohama's totally transforming the car. My wife even notice the difference as a passenger!

With the purchase price, tax/title, parts, and service I have close to 10k into it so far. It will need new shocks and ball joints but that will have to wait until next season. Let's hope she's good to me!