The questions asked
before the quote.

Engineering reference notes for scoping reality capture

Every industrial 3D laser scanning, Scan-to-BIM, Scan-to-CAD, and drone photogrammetry project across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut turns on four technical choices: capture modality, registration control, modeling Level of Development, and native delivery format. We wrote these guides so plant engineers, architects, EPC project managers, and general contractors can evaluate those trade-offs before requesting a scope.

When comparing survey-grade terrestrial tripod LiDAR (2 to 3 mm single-station accuracy and 3 to 6 mm registered network accuracy), wearable mobile SLAM capture (10 to 25 mm local accuracy), and FAA Part 107 RTK or PPK aerial photogrammetry (1 to 3 cm horizontal and 2 to 5 cm vertical accuracy with ground control), the right instrument is always dictated by downstream engineering tolerance rather than marketing claims. A mechanical tie-in on a congested pipe rack requires tripod phase-shift or time-of-flight LiDAR registered to survey targets; a multi-building warehouse space inventory can run on mobile SLAM locked to tripod control stations.

Our modeling and file-format guides follow open industry specifications including the ASTM E2807 standard for E57 3D imaging data exchange, the BIMForum Level of Development (LOD 200, LOD 300, and LOD 350) specification, and the USIBD Level of Accuracy (LOA) existing-conditions framework. Whether your team consumes native Autodesk Revit (.rvt, versions 2021 through 2025), openBIM IFC2x3 or IFC4, AutoCAD (.dwg/.dxf), Navisworks (.nwc/.nwd), or Autodesk ReCap (.rcp/.rcs), each guide below explains how to specify only the geometry and modeling depth your project will actually use.