News Stories

Space station cosmonauts to make 3D photo report

[NY Daily News]

The crew members at the International Space Station (ISS) will make a photo report about life onboard the orbital complex, with a 3D camera sent by Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

“Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin who on Tuesday left for the ISS onboard Soyuz TMA-04M space shuttle, took a special stereo camera to make a 3D report about their life and work on the orbital complex,” said Vladimir Baranov, chief of the news agency’s image department.

The camera is a FujiFilm Real 3D W3 with dual lens and twin 10-megapixel CCD technology. It not only captures 10-megapixel 3D photos, but is also the world’s first digital camera that can capture 3D HD movies.

The photos captured during this ISS mission will be delivered back to Earth by the previous 31st ISS crew, which will return June 1.

The camera itself will never get back to Earth. “Most likely, it will remain onboard the ISS and, perhaps, be used by future crews,” Baranov said.

See the original post here: http://india.nydailynews.com/business/37b67fd94e19dd48178dc6a29c2b4367/space-station-cosmonauts-to-make-3d-photo-report

Society of Manufacturing Engineers Reveals How Leveraging 3D Imaging Technologies Accelerates Product Design and Production at RAPID 2012

[Press Release]

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) will present a 3D imaging technologies lineup of briefings, workshops, presentations and displays at RAPID 2012Conference & Exposition May 23-24 in Atlanta in response to the growing number of manufacturing engineers looking for solutions that accelerate product design and production.

3D imaging equipment and software are used for a full range of manufacturing applications including; inspection, quality control, verification, metrology and measurement. When combined with additive manufacturing, 3D imaging technologies can streamline the product design and inspection process, dramatically reducing the time it takes to bring new products to market.

“3D imaging is often the first step of the 3D printing process, especially when it comes to physical objects that need to be virtualized,” says Michael Raphael of Direct Dimensions. “3D imaging provides the solutions for capturing reality.”

3D imaging tools have evolved and provide automatic functions for analysis of complex geometric inspection of manufactured parts. The latest solutions automate the analysis of CAD-encoded geometric dimensioning and tolerancing, and are expected to drive the growth of production inspection and part manufacturability with 3D imaging technology.

The 3D Imaging Event kicks off on Tuesday, May 22 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. with an in-depth reverse engineering and 3D data capture workshop where experts from SME’s Rapid Technologies & Additive Manufacturing (RTAM) Community Tech Group will provide a comprehensive introduction to 3D scanning technologies, software and processes, highlighting the differences between data capture technologies with a hands-on demonstration of popular scanning devices. A free one-hour 3D imaging technology overview is offered free to all registered attendees from noon to 1 p.m., May 23 and 24.

“This is the most comprehensive event for conversations on applications for all types of 3D imaging,” says Raphael.

3D Imaging Conference Sessions

Wednesday, May 23 will include one full day of 3D imaging presentations in several industry-specific sessions during the two-day RAPID 2012 conference, including:

  • “Shape Engineering and Design Parameterization in Reverse Engineering” presented by Kuang-Jua Chang, University of Oklahoma
  • “3D Scan-T0-CAD, Does +1 Really Equal 2?” presented by Michael Mock, INUS Technology
  • “Reverse Engineering: Technology of Reinvention” presented by Wego Wang, University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • “Automated 3D Scanning and Analysis of Automotive Parts: A Systems Integration Case Study” presented by Mike Formica and Damion Shelton, threeRivers 3D, Inc.
  • “The Search for the Golden Part” presented by Stephen Spanoudis, Motorola Solutions Inc
  • “Heritage, Arts and 3D Technologies” presented by Roy Charles-Oliver, Artisans du Passage
  • “How Useful is That! What You Can Do With CT Scanning” presented by Giles Gaskell, Wenzel America Ltd and Rus Emerick, Schneider-Electric
  • “Project ‘OREO’ – A Custom Polycarbonate Canine Implant Made with FDM Technology” presented by Trina Bailey, Atlantic Veterinary College and Martin Petrak, Orthopaedic Innovation Centre
  • “Useful Simulation for Design, Engineering, Maintenance and Verification Activities” presented by Mike Mazen, Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing and Technology
  • “3D Imaging: The Reality of Digital Reality Capture” presented by Michael Raphael, Direct Dimensions, Inc.
  • “From Worn-out Pump Impeller to Castings – The All-digital Process without Tooling or Patterns” presented by Daniel J. Maas, ProMetal RCT / The ExOne Company

 

“This is the must-attend event for anyone interested in engineering services, inspection systems, 3D imaging equipment and reverse engineering, and we’re anticipating to draw a larger crowd of professionals from the Atlanta area this year,” said SME business development manager Gary Mikola.

3D Imaging Exhibits

RAPID 2012 also includes a two-day trade show dedicated to the most advanced 3D imaging software, scanners and service providers in the industry. Show hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., May 23 and 24. Some of the exhibiting companies include:

  • 3dMD
  • Capture 3D
  • CGI
  • Creaform
  • Delcam
  • Direct Dimensions
  • FARO
  • Geomagic / Sensable
  • Hexagon Metrology
  • Innovmetric
  • Materialise
  • NeoMetrix Technologies, Inc.
  • Nikon Metrology, Inc.
  • North Star Imaging
  • Rapidform
  • ShapeGrabber
  • Shining 3D USA
  • Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing and Technology (SiMT)
  • Steinbichler Vision Systems
  • Tebis CAD/CAM Tebis
  • Tebis Version
  • Wenzel America Ltd
  •  

     

  • View Complete RAPID 2012 & 3D IMAGING Exhibitor List Online

 

Engineers from around the world will be gathering in Atlanta to discover how 3D imaging and additive manufacturing can speed products to market with greater cost and time efficiencies. “I attend every year to learn about the newest solutions for the wide range of 3D problems that our company solves across virtually all industries. From analyzing manufacturing inspections to documenting museum artifacts, RAPID has it all,” Raphael added.

The world of manufacturing is rapidly changing and RAPID attracts an international audience of engineers who want to improve their manufacturing processes. 3D imaging is becoming a bigger part of the solution, allowing companies to meet the growing demand for their products and at the same time have better quality control meeting the new international ISO:9001 certifications standards.

“We’ve put together a powerful 3D imaging and additive manufacturing experience at RAPID 2012 to show attendees how to accelerate the product development process while providing the most cutting edge systems and services available,” Mikola added.

See the original post here: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/5/prweb9515955.htm

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Specification for Naming VFX Image Sequences Released

ETC’s VFX Working Group has published a specification for best practices naming image sequences such as plates and comps. File naming is an essential tool for organizing the multitude of frames that are inputs and outputs from the VFX process. Prior to the publication of this specification, each organization had its own naming scheme, requiring custom processes for each partner, which often resulted in confusion and miscommunication.

The new ETC@USC specification focuses primarily on sequences of individual images. The initial use case was VFX plates, typically delivered as OpenEXR or DPX files. However, the team soon realized that the same naming conventions can apply to virtually any image sequence. Consequently, the specification was written to handle a wide array of assets and use cases.

To ensure all requirements are represented, the working group included over 2 dozen participants representing studios, VFX houses, tool creators, creatives and others.  The ETC@USC also worked closely with MovieLabs to ensure that the specification could be integrated as part of their 2030 Vision.

A key design criteria for this specification is compatibility with existing practices.  Chair of the VFX working group, Horst Sarubin of Universal Pictures, said: “Our studio is committed to being at the forefront of designing best industry practices to modernize and simplify workflows, and we believe this white paper succeeded in building a new foundation for tools to transfer files in the most efficient manner.”

This specification is compatible with other initiatives such as the Visual Effects Society (VES) Transfer Specifications. “We wanted to make it as seamless as possible for everyone to adopt this specification,” said working group co-chair and ETC@USC’s Erik Weaver. “To ensure all perspectives were represented we created a team of industry experts familiar with the handling of these materials and collaborated with a number of industry groups.”

“Collaboration between MovieLabs and important industry groups like the ETC is critical to implementing the 2030 Vision,” said Craig Seidel, SVP of MovieLabs. “This specification is a key step in defining the foundations for better software-defined workflows. We look forward to continued partnership with the ETC on implementing other critical elements of the 2030 Vision.”

The specification is available online for anyone to use.

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