The Rolls Royce of 3D scanning

Last week, when I visited Advanced Engineering, one of the most valuable experiences of that trip for me was to simply see the machines I had been writing about in real life. It really puts things into perspective to see them up close and in action. One device that stood out to me in particular was the Artec Eva 3D scanner.

I’ve written about the Artec Eva before, such as when one was used to scan the draft tubes of a hydroelectric dam, but I had never seen one in person. Thankfully, I got the opportunity to hold one at the show, courtesy of the guys on the Central Scanning stand. I was surprised to feel how light the Artec Eva actually is, considering it’s such an advanced piece of technology. They even gave me a quick and very impressive demonstration of the Artec Leo, which you can spot in the video I put together on my visit to the show.

Funny enough, I was reading up on one of my interests recently that turned out to be quite relevant. Once again, I’m taking any opportunity I can to write about airships. During the First World War, the North Sea Class of airship was designed in Britain as a long-range scout for escorting naval convoys and finding enemy submarines. Despite some initial problems that were soon smoothed out, it proved to be a hugely successful design, setting multiple records, such as a 101-hour long flight in 1919, as well as boasting the statistic that no ships were lost to submarines while escorted by an NS Class airship.

One problem that became evident early on was that these airships were initially powered by two Rolls Royce Eagle engines, attached to a complicated drive system for the propellers which was prone to breaking down. Fairly quickly, the engines were swapped for Fiat engines with a simpler drive shaft (imagine swapping a Rolls Royce for a Fiat nowadays). However, the Rolls Royce Eagle engine itself would go on to play an important role in the history of aviation: it became the first engine to power an aircraft on a non-stop trans-Atlantic flight.

In June 1919, British aviators Jon Alcock and Arthur Brown flew in a modified Vickers Vimy bomber from Canada to Ireland. The Vickers Vimy was powered by the Eagle engine, and at least one of the engines of the very plane that Alcock and Brown flew in still remains. And guess what? It was 3D scanned using an Artec Eva.

I came across the scan, which you can view here, and then read the article on how it was made by Eilish Clohessy, Assistant Curator of Making at Derby Museums. It’s an interesting read, as she learned 3D scanning more or less specifically to scan the Eagle engine. With such a complicated shape, it took her more than one attempt, but the result is quite spectacular.

Such an intricate and advanced shape comes out looking fantastic when you can manipulate it digitally, spinning it around to view it from all angles. Regular readers will know of my passion for history, so it should be no surprise that I was delighted by this find. However, even for those who aren’t interested in history or aviation, I think this scan really shows the value of 3D scanning. There’s few things that can show the quality, clarity and precision of 3D scanning as well as an engine can.

It's exciting to see more and more museums digitise their artefacts and making them available to view online. I will certainly be looking forward to seeing what artefact will fascinate me next.