Tips for Getting Started

Starting Out

You’ve gotten to the jobsite, and setup your scanner. You’ve powered it up and Connected it to Collage Site. So, what do you do now? First, you’ll want to create a New Project (or import an .scz if you have one you’d like to work in)

Next, you’ll want to Import your control points if you have them or are going to be using them (If you want to get on Control). For some workflows you will be required to import a 3D model. If your specific workflow doesn’t need the 3D model, then don’t worry about it.

Note: If the 3D model is impacting performance, you may hide it in the Layers Tab

Now it’s time to make a New Station. If you want to be on control, then Localize. If you aren’t happy with your localization results, you can Edit your Localization and make any corrections or changes you need.

After the localization is completed, it’s time to get Scanning. Once you have your first scan, you can make another new station, and repeat the process. A best practice is going to be using Keep and Link when prompted after each scan is completed. Do this until you’re happy with your point cloud and registration.

If you’re not happy with the registration, then you may enter into the Linking Menu and adjust them to your preference. For best accuracy it is recommended that you create as many links between your stations as you can.

You’ll want to avoid making a straight line of the stations, as this causes to accuracy errors. For best accuracy set your stations up in triangles or squares. (Provided of course that there is enough overlap between the scans themselves. If the link cannot be made accurately, don’t sweat it. Just cancel the link instead of tapping Accept and the stations will move back to their original positions).

Another best practice for linking stations between rooms is to always place a station directly in the center for the doorway. This makes linking stations between rooms much more accurate and easier to link.

Note: Once you create a new station, you cannot go back to the previous station and add more data

Note: One bad link can disrupt an entire project. If you’re having problems with registration, check the status of all of your links

If you’re going to have large gaps between stations, (say, 30 ft. or more, or setup stations in different rooms with little to no overlap) you can make it work. However, doing so requires you to localize every station, and keep them unlinked. Doing it this way ensures you will not be able to link any station if you want to maintain accuracy. Localization will ensure accuracy when using this method.

Please note that you cannot combine the 2 methods above

Once you’ve finished scanning and registration, what next? It’s time to Optimize and Bundle Adjust to finalize the registration.

Note: This will be the last thing you want to do in a project

When you have completed your project, it’s time to Export. Exported scans have several formats that can be loaded into many other programs.

More advanced features and functions can be found within the Knowledge Base, broken down by function.

Support and Troubleshooting

When you encounter an issue while using Collage Site, consult the Troubleshooting section.

If the problem is not solved in there, then follow the Error Reporting guide.

Attaching the error logs to your initial email to support will speedup resolution considerably. It is ideal to run the Error Reporter app 5 to 15 minutes after the error occurs.