Happy Holidays from 3DVDT!

A Gift of Giving

. . . 'tis the season when we are all busy shopping!  Shopping for food, shopping for presents, shopping for deals!

I would personally like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a joyous holiday season and a healthy, prosperous New Year, and to thank each and every one of you who have been supportive, loyal and kind, we would like to show our gratitude to you by giving some of that kindness back.

As reported in the Sonoma Index Tribune 
By Kendall Fields/Index-Tribune Staff Writer

Recorded as one of the most powerful storms in history, with winds of 195 miles an hour and gusts as strong as 235 miles an hour, Typhoon Haiyan ripped through the Philippines on Friday, Nov. 8, killing thousands and affecting millions. According to a report from the United Nations, the storm affected 13 million people, displacing 4 million people and leaving 2.5 million people in need of food aid. 

In my hometown, a Sonoma family is collecting donations for victims of Typhoon Haiyan that ravaged the Philippines earlier this month.  See article . . . . read more

On your behalf, 3D Virtual Design Technology, Inc. would like to contribute to this relief fund for the victims displaced and in need of food aid.

Here is the "deal" . . . Simply Submit your email address to the "Follow by Email" box at the right-hand side bar and 3DVDT will donate a gift of $5.00 on your behalf to the Silvi Family of Sonoma to help pay for shipping costs that they have generously offered to pay for out of their own pockets.  

Refer a friend to follow as well and 3DVDT will donate on their behalf too!

Dulci Silvi and her husband loading supplies from their garage

Happy Holidays!

Shari D. Kamimori

3DVDT

New 'streetscape' envisioned

Downtown St. Helena, CA

According to an article written up by David Stoneberg in the local newspaper, the St. Helena Star, a group that calls themselves the Downtown Renaissance Committee, a sub-committee of the St. Helena Chamber of Commerce, has formed to "bring beauty to the downtown area" by redesigning St. Helena's downtown with new sidewalks, more street lamps, hanging flowers, new curbs and "parklets"- that is, expanded sidewalk areas that "build out the sidewalk" to provide a bench for sitting or a table and chairs for outdoor dining.

Animation courtesy of PacficHDS

3D Virtual Design Technology was hired to survey 2,000 feet of city blocks using 3D Laser Scanning Technology to capture every building facade, sidewalk, streetlamp - basically, everything that is visible to the laser beam's line of sight.  This resulted in a cohesive 3D image made up of over 87 million points of reference and is millimeter accurate.  The above animation presents a visual 3-dimensional stroll down Main Street.

Main Street, St. Helena

In order to raise funds for the City improvements, a partial 3D model was created directly from the scan data.  As stated by the Committee Chair, "the idea is to create a Master Plan for the entire project, and to get bids to build the first of seven sections to show what the new design would look like.  I don't think we can raise the money without showing sponsors what they are paying for," he added.

The scan data also provided the blueprint to plan and design new public restrooms.  The City of St. Helena will be able to use this valuable data for any future City improvements, maintenance, planning and most importantly as a digitally documented archive of the downtown area.

720 Feet Underground . . .

Faster, safer, and more accurate results leveraging Scan to BIM technology 

3D laser scanning proved to be an invaluable solution for documenting the existing interior conditions of the Hydraulic Turbine Generators at the Edward Hyatt Powerplant located in the bedrock beneath Oroville Dam in Oroville, California.

The Oroville-Thermalito Complex was designed as an efficient water and power system.  It stores about 3.5 million acre-feet and generates power from releases made through Edward Hyatt Powerplant and two other Thermalito generating plants. ​

At 770 ft. Oroville Dam is the tallest dam in the nation

Edward Hyatt Powerplant

Project Challenge:​

• ​Design an aluminum steel catwalk within the walls of the 40 ft. diameter Turbine

• Catwalk pre-manufactured off-site and installed on-site​

• Catwalk pieces not to exceed 40 lbs. each​

• Catwalk must be removable

• Catwalk elements must be designed to avoid existing piping around Turbine walls

Scan to BIM Results:

• Total scan time per Turbine = 1hr., 15 mins.​

• 26 million points recorded

• Model creation from scan data = 1 wk. (7days)

• Accuracy within 1/8"

                       

The resulting 3D model will be used for the generation of shop drawings, manufacturer templates, and a visual aid for on-site installation.

"This process would have taken up to 3 weeks to document the as-built conditions using traditional methods with safety being compromised.  The level of precision and resulting accuracy of the model/drawings would have been impossible to achieve", as stated by the designing project engineer.