Fact or fiction? Data acquired with 3-D scanning is inferior to that acquired via a touch probe and a coordinate measuring machine (CMM). This most certainly is fiction. The fact is that 3-D scanning captures tens of thousands of points per second, an enormous amount of data that makes the process statistically superior.

What other misconceptions about 3-D scanning have you heard (and maybe believed)? Read on to separate the fact from the fiction.

Fiction: The size of objects you can scan is limited.
Fact: Practically speaking, there are no upper or lower boundaries on the size of objects that can be scanned. You can scan parts smaller than a ball point on a pen and larger than a football field. Long-range scanning (terrestrial laser scanning) enables 3-D capture of virtually infinite-sized objects and areas because the size of the specimen being scanned is no longer limited to the directional travel of a machine or the reach of a measuring arm.

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