Asphar Survey presents their newest technique to capture highly accurate 3D information: the Faro measuring arm. This tactile instrument measures coordinates in real time in three dimensions with an accuracy of +/- 0.051mm for a single point measurement. Its light and compact design makes it the instrument of choice for precise measurements on industrials sites or archaeological places. To ensure the capability of this instrument it can be calibrated in site.

The measuring arm itself is only capable of measuring single points by touching the objects surface. In combination with a 3D laser triangulation scanner, that can be attached to the measuring arm, it is possible to capture laminar and unsteady surfaces with an accuracy of +/- 0.086mm. The outcome of the scanning process is a 3D point cloud that can be processed with all our software packages for 3D scanning and surface creation.

Typical applications for this poduct are alignment, inspection and reverse engineering, determination of straightness, planarity, parallelity or radii. Figure 1 shows a meshed point cloud that has been measured with a measuring arm and an attached scanning unit.