Cutting Edge Technology

Over the recent months, we have had the opportunity to utilize several new resources for accomplishing various tasks on our jobsites. Some of our current projects have presented us with unique challenges, for which we have had to pursue unique solutions.

On one project in particular, some of our extensive stonework required greater accuracy than what would be accomplished with the usual measuring and cutting methods; enter Funcpro. Funcpro is a small company that specializes in precision 3-D scanning; their equipment and software allow them to completely scan all sides of an object with an accuracy of about 1/8^th of an inch for every 60’!

So we were faced with a somewhat complex pool shape, the photo below gives you an idea of what we had to work with:

The design calls for long pieces of stone along the top of the pool walls that follow the curves; so to measure those curves, the guys at Funcpro placed reflective dots along the sides and top of the walls:

then used a laser scanner to pick up each point along the wall.

Their computer software turns these points into a 3-D CAD line drawing of what was just scanned, and this data can then be used by CNC machines in millwork shops, metal shops, and, in this case, stoneyards. Because the slabs will be somewhat thin, the folks over at J.C. Stone in Jefferson will be able to cut the curves directly from the drawings using a water jet.

This is a close up of where the top of the pool's south entry area meets a taller sidewall.

This is the whole top step of the south entry area. All the holes and jagged edges were places lacking reflectors; if necessary, they would have been able to go back and fill them in.

A screen shot.

One other place on-site where we found this to be essential was in the templating for the edge stones in an octagon shaped room:

The uses for this technology are pretty diverse, and we hope to be able to continue using it in different ways on future projects.

For more information, feel free to contact us at 207-633-3818 or info@knickerbockergroup.com; Kevan Cole with Funcpro at 207-557-2056 or Kevan@funcpro.com; J.C. Stone at 207-549-4729. Pool layout design by Gates, Leighton & Associates, agalle@glala.com.