Buck Rogers & The Allegheny Eastern

I recently met a mad scientist who has perfected a way to shrink objects to what ever size one desires. I helped him test it and we succeeded in shrinking a 1940 Ford Tudor sedan to pocket size. The only drawback was the mass. The good doctor hasn't overcome that problem. The car will fit in your pocket, but because it still weighs two tons you need a crane to lift it...

Ominous, Isn't It.

No, I haven't actually found a way to reduce a 1940 Ford to a toy. Would that I could. The deathray gadget shown above is a laser level. Normally used to produce a level line for all kinds of construction it's been adapted here to scan objects. I use the level to scan the Ford model and a digital camera collects the image...

Laser Scanner

The results are processed by a software called "David". The software is free, to a certain extent. It's a low resolution trial version that allows scanning any object into three dimensional data. The data can be imported into other programs that can manipulate the information and create digital copies. It can also be exported to 3D printers and reproduced as real objects.

The fact that the data can be manipulated means that it can be stretched in any direction or enlarged or reduced. You can for instance, scan a real 1940 Ford Tudor sedan and re-scale it to any size desired (no joke). Using a 3D printer you can re-size it to produce a 1/25th scale replica, or for that matter, reduce it to 1/160th scale.

I first stumbled across David when I was creating digital models for train simulators. Building realistic digital models takes just as long or longer than real models. Some of the shapes we take for granted, such as 1940 Fords, are very hard to re-create. Scanning a ready made Ford would be much easier. I had this idea that I could shorten the process by scanning objects into my 3D modeling software.

While some models, like my Baldwin passenger sharks and centipedes, could be reproduced through this process, I still have to build the first model to have something to scan. There are however a jillion other objects the layout could use that are readily available, but not in 1:160 scale. With David, I might be able to reproduce these items. It's similar in some ways to using Hydrospan for shrinking castings, but with a lot less mess.

The software essentially creates a cluster of data points, called a point cloud, representing the scanned object. The spatial data we used in the train simulators uses the same technology...

Geo-spatial Point Cloud

This point "cloud", as it's called, is the basis for a three dimensional mesh. The mesh can be used for a number of purposes such as creating three dimensional terrain...

Geo-spatial Simulation

Granted, the terrain data was scanned from a satellite and is infinitely more complex than scanning a sugar bowl on the kitchen table. The point is that as long as I can scan a real object I can digitize it. If I can do that, then chances are good that I can have it printed by a 3D printing service.

I'm still playing with the gadgets and software. The best scan I've gotten so far is a salt shaker. I'm getting a lot of "noise" during the scan and still have to figure out what's causing it. Once I do that '40 Ford could end up parked at Altoona station.

Regards,

Frank Musick

Building a dream layout on a nightmare budget

The Allegheny Eastern Railroad