Although photogrammetry – the practice of making measurements with the use of photographs – has been around since the 19^th century Creaform, the portable 3D scanning and optical measurement technology company, has brought it to the 21^st with the release of the MaxSHOT 3D optical coordinate measurement camera. The goal: to make the measurement of objects (from parts to full assemblies) faster and easier for users of all skill levels to ultimately reduce production costs. The camera offers a volumetric accuracy of 0.0003 in./ft; the in-use accuracy is based on which Creaform positioning system it is used with (e.g., the photogrammetry camera is compatible with Creaform’s Handyscan 3D self-positioning scanner, the MetraSCAN optical coordinate measuring machine (CMM) 3D scanner, and the HandyPROBE arm-free CMM scanner).

The MaxSHOT 3D camera captures the coordinates of an object and sends the points to VXshot a module of the company’s VXelements 3D data acquisition software. The data are processed and a positioning model is created. To increase usability and accuracy of the image, the software:

– Guides users throughout the measurement process.

– Immediately notifies users if they need to take additional pictures to increase measurement accuracy.

– Provides real-time visualization and validation options of the positioning model.

– Measures and recomputes all identified points each time an image is taken.