S&L invests in state-of-the-art 3D technology

By acquiring a new 3D scanner and expanding existing CAD software licenses, S&L Energie Projekte GmbH now has state-of-the-art tools for planning CHP plants in existing buildings. The technology has already been successfully tested in several customer projects and is generating enthusiasm among S&L project managers and customers.

In S&L's project business, existing heating plants of municipal utilities or industrial customers are often modernized or expanded. Compared to a new construction project, components such as pipelines, cable routes and ventilation ducts must be considered as fixed obstacles when planning a CHP plant into an existing building.
By using the new 3D scanner, a complete 3D scan of the existing plant can already be taken during the initial plant inspection. The collected data is used to create a digital twin of the plant and derive a point cloud.
The digital twin allows a virtual tour of the captured plant. This allows the project to be discussed with colleagues, subcontractors or the customer at any time. In addition, virtual measurements can be taken in the digital twin.
The derived point cloud is converted and post-processed. It can then be read into the 3D CAD software. The new plant is then planned directly into the existing digital plant. In this way, the available space can be ideally utilized. Collisions with existing plant components are detected directly and can thus be avoided.

Figure 2: Excerpt from an expansion planning, an additional JMS312 next to two existing JMS320s.

With this technology, S&L is now able to show the customer a 3D layout design just a few days after the initial plant visit. Within a very short time, different installation concepts can be compared with each other with regard to feasibility, required conversion effort and ease of maintenance.
During the construction phase, the execution time and thus also the customer's downtime of the existing plant is reduced, since many details, such as the exact pipe and component positions, can now be planned very precisely even before the start of construction.

After the first projects, the S&L project managers already draw a positive conclusion: The new technology inspires customers and project managers, saves effort and costs, and increases customer benefits.

 

 

 

 

 

Photo credit Figure 1: Image of the new 3D scanner (source: https://go.matterport.com/DE)