We’d like to think that every 3D laser scanning service job goes wonderfully, and the vast majority of them do. But occasionally there is a job, once in a blue moon, where Murphy’s law rears its ugly head. 3D laser scanning technicians that encounter these nightmare jobs may wake up in a cold sweat for years after. These are their stories.
The rogue forklift
It was a sunny summer day at a chemical processing facility. The technician was performing 3D laser scanning services on a portion of the plant. A plant scan job requires a surprising amount of walking around. Placing targets, planning the next scan location, avoiding the scanner’s gaze during 3D scanning and photography. The technician normally stays nearby when scanning to keep an eye on things, but he had stepped away for a minute to take care of something. Upon returning, the scanner was toppled, with the scanning head face down on the concrete. The unthinkable had happened. nearby was a parked forklift and an apologetic driver. Now we know that forklifts don’t kill scanners, people kill scanners. They build the scanners to last, but unfortunately a forklift impact fell outside the design parameters and the scanner perished.
The microburst
Imagine being up on the roof of a 12-story building and performing 3D laser scanning services. This is not an enviable position even in calm weather, but throw in some 40 mph wind gusts and now you have the potential for an exciting day. When the scanner is supported only by a tripod, it can get blown over. That is what happened one fine day. Before the technician could react in time, the scanner was on its side. Fortunately, the impact was light enough that no damage was incurred. But an expensive 3D laser laying on the ground really is the last thing you want to see.
Phantom scans
This story involves a painful situation of having to do the same difficult job all over again. It was a tough scan, inside a hot and sweaty lubricant factory. On top of the heat, the 3D scanning services technician was required to wear fire-resistant overalls which made it a real sauna. The job required a lot of ducking under, stepping over and squeezing around pipes. At the end of the day, the technician retrieved the SD card from the scanner to begin the import and QC procedure, when to his horror, the disk was empty. Having to do the same job twice is no fun. There is just something about being unproductive that goes against the human spirit. Fortunately, this nightmare is an extremely rare occurrence with 3D laser scanning services.
The rusty handrail
The 3D laser scanning service technician was scanning in a paper mill. If you have never been in a paper mill, take my word for it and stay away. The process of making paper is wet and stinky. One area we scanned was in the vicinity of what they called “the pit”. I do not know how “the pit” contributed to making paper, but it resembled a swimming pool full of sewage. It seems oddly appropriate that the paper being produced happened to be toilet paper. The pit was surrounded by what looked to be a sturdy metal handrail. Our loyal and trusty 3D laser scanning technician lightly leaned against one of the handrails, only to have it instantly give way. Had he not acted quickly to grasp for a solid support to catch his fall, he would have been immersed in the contents of “the pit” and possibly badly injured.
3D laser scanning services – avoid the hassles and hire us
3D laser scanning is sometimes a cake walk, but can be challenging on occasion. From broken equipment to broken bones, there are things that can go wrong. Arrival 3D is fully insured for any eventuality, so you can trust us to get the job done so that you can rest easy.