Advancing Marine Projects with Laser Scanning: Three Case Studies
Laser scanning has become essential in the maritime industry, capturing intricate details with unmatched precision. The resulting point cloud data streamlines maintenance, retrofitting, and documentation by enabling quick assessments, accurate measurements, and detailed records, reducing the need for repeated inspections. Explore three projects from the NUBIGON user community that showcase how different scanning methods and NUBIGON’s tools are advancing ship projects.
Why Laser Scan Ships?
Laser scanning both the exteriors and interiors of ships enables the creation of precise digital replicas, improving maintenance, retrofitting, and design. These scans offer a detailed spatial understanding of hard-to-reach areas such as mechanical rooms, engine compartments, and ballast tanks.
Accurate scans of the ship’s exterior, including surface irregularities, are crucial for hull inspections, repairs, and upgrades. Meanwhile, interior scans allow for detailed navigation and documentation of confined spaces like engine rooms, storage compartments, and machinery spaces—essential for safety checks and optimizing performance.
NUBIGON enhances these projects by visualizing point clouds with unique rendering options that allow for detailed analysis and a clear presentation of deliverables.
Scan Hard-to-Reach Spaces
Handheld and wearable laser scanners provide versatile solutions for capturing intricate ship spaces. They allow professionals to scan areas that may otherwise be difficult to access. Whether climbing into tight engine compartments or scanning confined corridors, these tools offer convenience while ensuring a comprehensive capture.
3D Scan of an Icelandic Fishing Boat
In the fall of 2024, Puntasky took on the challenge of scanning the Sigurður Ólafsson SF44, a vessel in dry-dock. Using the NavVis VLX laser scanner, they captured the ship's exterior and interior details. The point cloud data, rendered with NUBIGON, provided a comprehensive view of the ship, helping shipbuilders and maintenance teams visualize areas in greater detail. The rendering also facilitated communicating the ship's status, highlighting structural integrity and potential areas requiring attention.
Ship Engine Room Scan by SCAN3D
One of the most complex areas to scan within a ship is the engine room, often filled with dense machinery, piping, and electrical components. SCAN3D tackled this challenge by scanning the mechanical room of a large vessel and capturing a wealth of detail. NUBIGON’s rendering software enabled surface and x-ray display modes, providing a comprehensive picture of this dense industrial space. Alternating between different display modes, users and viewers can better understand the spatial relationships between equipment, a feature particularly useful for engineers working on retrofits or repairs.
Aerial Indoor LiDAR for Hazardous Spaces
Conventional inspection methods can pose significant risks in hazardous environments like ballast tanks. Flyability’s aerial indoor lidar scanner Elios 3 offer a safer alternative, allowing operators to capture data remotely. NUBIGON’s X-ray display, combined with the elevation coloring, brought the complexities of the ballast tank inspection to the forefront, enabling the viewer to inspect this difficult-to-access area without risk. Such technology provides a critical solution for ship maintenance crews looking to improve safety while obtaining highly detailed insights.
