Hexagon Tackles FABSCAN Challenge at FABTECH 2018

Hexagon Scanning Experts Team up with Welder and Fab Metal Artist Josh Welton to Reverse Engineer his Latest Creation

Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division announced today it will host a FABSCAN Challenge with artist Josh Welton on Tuesday, November 6, at 2pm in Booth #B9001 at FABTECH, November 6-8, Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA. Welton is a veteran welding fabricator for his own company Brown Dog Welding. He is also an accomplished metal artist in his own right. Welton will work with Hexagon scanning experts to execute a full scan of his latest metal sculpture, an artistic 3D interpretation of an off-road vehicle. The sculpture presents many interesting and complex features and surface types for scanning, reverse engineering and prototyping. Welton is also a popular blogger and contributing editor at The Fabricator, a magazine that has served the metal forming and fabricating industry since 1971. He will write about his scanning experience, the tools, data modeling/analysis and the process to reverse engineer a mold and/or a 3D printed version of his original work.

Hexagon will demonstrate a variety of scanning technologies at FABTECH in Booth #B9001. On hand for the scanning project will be a new-to-market Absolute Arm and Scanner showing off its ground-up redesign. Hexagon’s flagship portable measuring arm features a configurable wrist design enabling the user to utilize the RS5 Laser Scanner and touch probe accessories in a variety of ergonomic options. The Absolute Arm’s compact scanning profile allows users to acquire 3D data in small cavities or inside parts and fixtures. The versatile Absolute Arm product line delivers high-speed 3D scanning for surfaces and features regardless of the finish or material. With its wide, horizontally-oriented laser scan line and fully-automatic exposure settings, the RS5 Laser Scanner makes non-contact 3D data acquisition faster, easier and more accurate.

“For years, I had this idea to use one of my original sculptures as the basis for a limited series of bronze castings. Rather than carving the model from wax or clay, I built the sculpture from steel as a new twist on an old process. Now the technology exists to 3D scan the piece, and after that, the possibilities are endless,” said Josh Welton, owner of Brown Dog Welding. “The data can be used to 3D print a mold or to replicate the sculpture itself in metal. On top of that, the ability to manipulate the data or to scale the piece up or down is huge. I am beyond stoked to partner with Hexagon on this project and looking forward to sharing the experience with the world!”

Also featured on the Hexagon show floor will be the AICON SmartScan, a compact 3D white light scanner used for rapid data acquisition. The lightweight, compact design stands up to challenging workshop conditions for applications in quality control, reverse engineering and rapid prototyping. The mobile AICON SmartScan captures the maximum level of surface detail within seconds, including attributes like color and texture, irrespective of part size and complexity. The result is directly available as high-precision 3D data in numerous standard formats for further processing. The AICON OptoCat software is used for fast creation of precise point clouds with the highest data quality.

About Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence Division

Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division helps industrial manufacturers develop the disruptive technologies of today and the life-changing products of tomorrow. As a leading metrology and manufacturing solution specialist, our expertise in sensing, thinking and acting – the collection, analysis and active use of measurement data – gives our customers the confidence to increase production speed and accelerate productivity while enhancing product quality.

Through a network of local service centers, production facilities and commercial operations across five continents, we are shaping smart change in manufacturing to build a world where quality drives productivity. For more information, visit HexagonMI.com.

Hexagon is a global leader in digital solutions that create Autonomous Connected Ecosystems (ACE). Hexagon (Nasdaq Stockholm: HEXA B) has approximately 19,000 employees in 50 countries and net sales of approximately 3.5bn EUR.

For more information, visit hexagon.com and follow us @HexagonAB.