Elon Musk is an incredible individual and has achieved in a short span of time incredible wealth. His companies include PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla Motors, SolarCity, The Boring Company, Hyperloop, AI and Neuralink. Most of these are household names by now. But how did he make it happen? Well I imagine there are quite a few business books that will cover the subject in depth. But we also know that one tool has consistently been there to support the engineering marvels coming from his companies: 3D laser scanning.
How 3D laser scanning helps his companies
This will only scratch the surface as to how 3D laser scanning has been an influence with all of these great companies. But engineering excellence requires accuracy and precision, which is exactly what you get when employing 3D laser scanning techniques. Quality control is critical for the aerospace and automotive industries. Whether it is for developing new products or ensuring a launch pad is not crooked, there is no substitute for 3D laser scanning, even for the greats like Elon Musk.
Testing things that burn
Spacex develops things that experience extremely high temperatures. This may be a rocket nozzle that is blasting an inferno out the end, or a space vehicle that is re-entering Earth’s atmosphere at high speeds and is heating up. When developing things for space flight it is necessary to test these things to make sure they can withstand the heat. One test is to simulate the blast of heat on the ground and see how well things hold up. 3D laser scanning is used before and after such a test to compare the shape of the part and see whether it was deformed by the test, and by how much. 3D laser scanning may also be used to measure wear of a surface.
3D laser scanning can make sure that a rocket launch pad has been installed correctly or is aligned right. If things don’t go perfectly on launch day, lives are at stake. So every advantage must be gained wherever possible to ensure that everything is operating within designed parameters.
Digging machines and vehicle plants
The Boring Company uses huge and complex machines that bore tunnels below the surface. These machines may not be easy to come by, so when you want another one and can’t find one, what to you do? Well, 3D laser scanning is an option. You can duplicate each and every part on the machine using 3D laser scanning, effectively reproducing it, so you can bore 2 holes now instead of 1. But unfortunately, the 3D laser scanner won’t tell you how to run it.
When building electric vehicles, quality control is of paramount importance. The last thing you want is to be cranking out hundreds of vehicles a day only to find out that they all have a problem. Tesla uses very strict quality control for assembling and checking parts using fixtures. How do they know the fixtures are right? 3D laser scanning. Also, Tesla Motors has manufacturing plants, and like any plant, they sometimes need maintenance, overhauls and renovation. 3D laser scanning enables Tesla to engineer and design a smooth running plant, and make upgrades with precision.
3D laser scanning – is it elon musk’s secret?
3D laser scanning is probably not the secret ingredient to his success, but it sure has helped. We know because we have been called many times by Tesla, The Boring Company, SpaceX and even NASA. If 3D laser scanning is good enough for them, what are you waiting for?