MAN WITH A SCAN

IT MIGHT SEEM LIKE SCIENCE FICTION, BUT 3D SCANNING CAN TAKE THE GUESSWORK OUT OF BUILDING YOUR PROJECT CAR

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MANY of us see building a car as a laborious process of hand-crafting parts and going through seemingly unending rounds of fitment by trial-and-error. However, the reality is that computers have revolutionised how cars can be built, with new technologies such as 3D scanning capable of radically improving the speed and accuracy of a build.

Three-dimensional scanning has been used across many industries since the early 2000s, including the aerospace, OE automotive, archaeological and medical fields, but now its use is exploding within the realms street machining and hot rodding. Big American companies like Dynacorn, Edelbrock, ICON 4x4, Ringbrothers, Art Morrison and Roadster Shop all use 3D scanning technology to develop parts.

The basic science of 3D scanning involves a machine running past an object and mapping its shape to build a digital 3D model of that object in the scanner’s software. This model can then be converted for use in computeraided design (CAD) programs like SolidWorks or Fusion 360. This saves huge time and massively improves accuracy when it comes to designing parts, as an engineer no longer has to custom-draw the model in the CAD software from scratch. A digital 3D model of an object can be created in just a few hours.

The 3D scanning process can be used to create models of full car bodies or frames, complete engines, and even the tiny gears used in a wristwatch (or vintage dash cluster). And the technology is rapidly evolving and improving every few months.