Βlk 360 rent questions

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Ioannis
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Βlk 360 rent questions

Post by Ioannis »

Now i am a user of geoslam scanner but i am planning to rent a blk 360 in order to scan to a small hotel and draw plans in 2d . ( i have use geoslam but i see a lot of noise in big spaces and in corridors and a small drift).
Now i use pointcab in with geoslam,insert the JPG scan image in autocad and then make 2d plans with polylines. Do you use an other easy way to do this ?

1) Can i do on-site registration immediattely ?
2) Is it necessary to use targets or spheres ?
3) Noise will be less than geoslam ?
4) Is it necessary to use a total station to have check points ?
5) I do not want images i only want grayscale pointclound, what is the time per set up that it will take to me ? (aproximatelly i need 100 set ups)

P.S i decide to rent blk because rent cost is the 1/3 price from faro s70, and other companies did not rent other scanners.
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Felix_the_Cat
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Re: Βlk 360 rent questions

Post by Felix_the_Cat »

Ioannis wrote:Now i am a user of geoslam scanner but i am planning to rent a blk 360 in order to scan to a small hotel and draw plans in 2d . ( i have use geoslam but i see a lot of noise in big spaces and in corridors and a small drift).
Now i use pointcab in with geoslam,insert the JPG scan image in autocad and then make 2d plans with polylines. Do you use an other easy way to do this ?

1) Can i do on-site registration immediattely ?
2) Is it necessary to use targets or spheres ?
3) Noise will be less than geoslam ?
4) Is it necessary to use a total station to have check points ?
5) I do not want images i only want grayscale pointclound, what is the time per set up that it will take to me ? (aproximatelly i need 100 set ups)

P.S i decide to rent blk because rent cost is the 1/3 price from faro s70, and other companies did not rent other scanners.

Let me take a stab at saving you from yourself here.

I don't know pointcab very well but I think your goal is to make orthophotos with it and then draw over them in AutoCAD to make plan and elevation views of a small hotel. You plan on performing some where in the neighborhood of 100 scans.

Let me take a whack at your questions:

1. Well, yes and no. The only way to get files off the BLK is via wifi. If you get the tablet version you can but you are limited by the wifi connection and the need to keep scanning.

2. No. But it will cut down on the overlap needed to get a good registration in register360. Which means fewer scans. Register360 is actually pretty adept at helping you with registration but leaves you with limited options to remediate when things go sideways. Do you know the software already? It takes some getting used to. BUT hotels are repetitive by design and can be a nightmare to register, especially long skinny hallways, so you may have to target. Also, being that you are renting, I assume you will be using paper targets. Do not trivialize the time needed to put them up and take them down! My kingdom for a decent masking tape dispenser! And, if you have stairwells and need to connect the floors, you will need to target the crap out of the stairwells or you will never get them registered. Lots to think about.

3. Heh, a kid with a crayon and a sewing tape measure is better than geoslam data. Yes. You will be in heaven, even though the scans are pretty poor.

4. No. Well...I wouldn't want to be relying solely on the 360, that's for sure. I would want something for a sanity check once in a while. They do odd things. I've had days where they work great, and others not so much. Sometimes the files come over messed up, and redownloading fixes it, sometimes not.

5. The 360 is quick with the pictures, I am not sure you can turn them off totally, I'll check that and edit if I am wrong. I'm pretty sure a medium scan with pictures takes around six minutes. Moving it is nothing, it is light and maneuverable. It absolutely eats batteries, better have spares. For two of them we need two charging cradles and six batteries to keep scanning continuously. I would want two to three days if I had to put up targets and check data onsite, just because of the wonky workflow.

How much is your time worth? Can you afford to take an extra day troubleshooting if the 360 has a bad day? Yes it's cheaper. But there is always some problem. Always. Do you have repeat access if some scans need to be redone?

I did a forty scan registration across three levels with the 360s recently and it turned out great. Really pretty nice. Except for the black spots where the scanner sits, still haven't figured out how to get rid of that. But a serviceable pointcloud, certainly.

But I have a lot of experience with it, AND I spent probably 50% more time on it than I would have with a Faro.

Really it is the wifi that sucks the most. It will hurt you.

I think you might be better off spending the money for the Faro.

Good luck!




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Re: Βlk 360 rent questions

Post by LPaulCook »

Better than taping paper targets are the static cling checkerd targets! I use them for jobs like this along with 200mm sphears down hallways and 11×17" checkered targets at the ends of long hallways I shoot in with my total station in one setup. I use the FARO X330 scanner.

I buy these static targets at www.laserscanning-america.com they also have a shop in Europe.

I hope that's helpful.
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Re: Βlk 360 rent questions

Post by Ioannis »

Thanks for the info but what do you mean with this ?
'' How much is your time worth? Can you afford to take an extra day troubleshooting if the 360 has a bad day? Yes it's cheaper. But there is always some problem. Always. Do you have repeat access if some scans need to be redone? ''
Recap pro do a bad registration?
When i make the set up and scan the raw data saved internal in blk and after i downolaod them ?Is there any chance to be corrupted?
If i spend one day to make scans and something goes bad i must repeat them ??

Also is there any other way to take polyline to draw 2d floor plan easilly than pointcab ?
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Re: Βlk 360 rent questions

Post by Felix_the_Cat »

What I meant was out of all the scanners we use the BLKs are the least efficient, and most unpredictable. There is always some kind of problem. At random times it just makes bad scans. Half the scan will be fine, half will be filled with giant artifacts. Sometimes everything goes great. Sometimes it doesn't. Almost always, file transfer involves re downloading a scan or two, which takes time. If you don't notice until you are offsite, you may need to rescan.

I use Register360, not the tablet based recap system. I was more speaking to issues with the scanning hardware and getting the scan files into your registration program. What I am talking about all happens before you begin registration. And a scan takes a lot longer to download than it does to make, so at some point you need to stop scanning and let the downloads catch up if you are registering onsite. Trust me, the wifi sucks.

Drawing over an orthophoto is pretty standard for this process. Any other solution will be expensive and require a steep learning curve. You could pull the rcp file into AutoCAD directly and just draw right on top of it, but the point cloud is cumbersome and if you have pointtools, might as well use it.

Faro scanners just work. Scene is an incredible software package. Recap sucks. It's only useful for making rcp files to use in inventor and AutoCAD. This is, of course, my opinion, but it comes from experience. I'm sure everything will be fine with the 360. I would personally pay for the faro, to eliminate the uncertainty.




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Re: Βlk 360 rent questions

Post by steves01x »

The BLK is a cracking bit of kit for tiny jobs and places that no other scanner fits but its slow, the data isnt that great when in larger spaces. And as has been mentioned you do run the risk of it not scanning on some set-ups. You will struggle to get much more than 12 scans and hour with it.

I would be doing it with the P40 on a set of wheels - easily do 25 to 40 set-ups with no colour per hour, brilliant data and hassle free registration in Cyclone but if Faro is your only option and you can use Scene go for it. Or wait for RTC360, its got speed, quality and on site registration.

One issue you may have with the hotel is that all the corridors and rooms may branch off from from 1 central stair case with the fire exists being shut each end and no opening windows to tie in any control or overlap for c2c.
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Re: Βlk 360 rent questions

Post by Ioannis »

Unfortunatelly i did not hear Felix the Cat and other people and i rent BLK, that scanner is a bullshit.

1) Local leica distributor did not provide me targets (and also he tell me that i did not want them) so i rely to him . As i understand after 60 set ups it was i big big mistake not to put targets or spheres.
As i surveyor i had the abillity to make a traverese and place a good grid. Then i try to make cloud2 cloud registration , that thing did not work because anyone tell me that i must have in an outdoor place set up every 5-8 meters. Are we seriοus BLK (medium resolution) in an open space setup one to another i have 20 meters distance and it can not find overlap points ! (overlap statistics it was under 10% in recap). Also recap sucks and shut down immediatelly, also recap if ipad is warm it shut down with no message.
2) The tripod that LEICA give with BLK is too short 1.50m so i lost a lot of things.
3) Images is awful, where is the white balance (it was in auto ) in places with o lot of sun images was like a snow totally white.
4) Also wiffi sucks
5) In a third floor biulding scans without targets was not levelled.
6) Data wants many hours to download where is a cable ?

What i learned BLK is a bad toy that works at short distances i have wasted my money and my time with it, unfortunatelly some people buy it.
Before you buy or rent a laser scanner make a demo test.
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Re: Βlk 360 rent questions

Post by Scott »

Ioannis wrote: Wed Aug 15, 2018 5:30 pm Unfortunatelly i did not hear Felix the Cat and other people and i rent BLK, that scanner is a bullshit.
...
What i learned BLK is a bad toy that works at short distances i have wasted my money and my time with it, unfortunatelly some people buy it.
Before you buy or rent a laser scanner make a demo test.
+1
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Re: Βlk 360 rent questions

Post by Ioannis »

Finally what learn i take is if it possible to rent or buy a FARO m70 scanner (or another) and use it parallel with geoslam (in small places ) and then merge the scans (with no colour) in to one.
And also make a good grid with total station.
What other options we have for someone that begin and it has a low budget to invest in a terrestrial scanner ?
Which is the time per set up that FARO M 70 Accomplish its station ?
Faro or other company will introduce something better than BLK ? (in that price)
Is there an excibition that we will see new entry scanners ?
Best software for registration Cyclone 360 or Scene ?
Too many questions for a newbie !
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Re: Βlk 360 rent questions

Post by Ioannis »

Any opinions on the above post ?
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