Hunter Water Australia has completed its first laser scanning project at Balickera pumping station.

Laser scanning was viewed as an ideal technique to rapidly capture 3D data to assist the revamp design of this huge item of water supply infrastructure.  A raw water supply canal needed to be isolated and emptied to allow access to the lower areas of the pumping station.  As a key link in Newcastle’s water supply, the pumping station could remain off-line for only a limited time.

Surveyors at Hunter Water Australia used a Leica HDS6000 Terrestrial Laser Scanner to collect more than ten million 3D data points over the pumping station.  The data, from six separate laser scanning locations were registered to one coordinate system (via survey targets) to generate one homogeneous 3D point cloud.

Civil engineering drafters at Hunter Water Australia used Cloudworx software to visualise and interact with the point cloud directly within AutoCAD.  In this new 3D environment the drafters were able to undertake interference checking between existing piping and rock faces and proposed new piping.  The drafters modelled key components of the existing structure and produced cross sections for new rock excavation and pipe construction.

Hunter Water Australia now has a team of surveyors and drafters trained in high definition laser scanning. 

Forward orders are now being taken for laser scanning and 3D modelling project work.  Call Andrea Swan on +61 438350507.