Environmental conditions

Consideration should be given to the surfaces being scanned, weather conditions and temperature prior to scanning.

Unfavorable surfaces

  • Highly reflective (polished metal, anodized metal, gloss paint, mirrors)

  • Translucent (clear glass, thermo isolated glass)

  • Highly absorbent (black)

To improve the results of the measurement, such surfaces can be colored or powdered.

Difficult weather conditions

  • Surfaces that are directly illuminated by the sun have an increased range noise and therefore a larger measurement uncertainty.

  • If some objects are scanned against the sunlight or a bright spotlight, the return signal to the optical receiver of the scanner can be too strong in this area and no measured data is recorded. A “black hole” appears in the reflectance image.

  • Fog, rain and snow can cause poor measurement results, therefore scanning during these conditions is not recommended.

Don't use the scanner in the rain. Scanning results can be compromised and it's better to protect the instrument from rain.

Extremely high or low temperatures

If the temperature is outside the calibrated operating range of -10 °C to +45 °C (14 °F to 113 °F), an error message is displayed. Scanning is still possible, but the measuring accuracy is no longer specified.

  • In very cold temperatures, be sure to warm up the scanner. See the Warm up function of the scanner.

  • In very hot temperatures, the scanner will switch off if the upper temperature limit is exceeded to avoid damaging electronic parts. Let the scanner cool down indoors or in the shade.

If the scanner is brought from cold into a warm and humid environment, the glass window on the mirror assembly or in extreme cases even the internal optic can fog up. This may cause measurement errors.

  • Avoid large temperature differences and allow the scanner time to acclimate.