Future of cockpit building

[boeing727223]

Hi folks, check this out...

http://www.laserdesign.com/project_news/95/

A 3d scan of an A300 cockpit! I'm into 3d modeling, but to be able to scan an actual cockpit (instead of me modeling it) and import that into a 3d modeling program or CAD program would be fantastic. This would allow us to export into an .stl format and have any parts printed or machined to exact specifications. I think this is the future for sure.

[fweinrebe]

Now that's cool. Imagine having all the dimensions for each cockpit to the millimeter / inch. Even better have the drawing already. This is the best companion for a CNC Mill / Router. Thanks for sharing.

[flatlandpilot]

I agree, getting good dimensions or forms is often more difficult than making things,
Would be really nice to have acces to 3D cockpit files like that.
milling sidepanels from MDF and mould them afterwards like this would be great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUl4WjD23Bk&feature=related

I hope the files of the A320 appear in a "public domain" version soon ;)

[Wendy]

Thanks for showing the video. Nice technique.


Regards Wendy

[Efe Cem Elci]

We did this with one of our airline's NG planes while it was grounded for a week for maintenance. Lots of stickers were used as well as talc powder so that the scanner could pick up certain areas. In the end the cockpit needed some thorough cleaning :D

Once the scan was finished, it took quite some time to form the surfaces, as the output of the scan is millions of dots as opposed to surfaces so these need to be combined into surfaces.