BMW F 800 R Motorbike

The BMW F 800 R Motorbike (or F 800R) is a model of the BMW brand, presented at the Milan Motor Show 2008, to be launched in 2009. It joins the S, ST and GS models of the ‘F’ range. When it came to scanning this motorcycle, there were two things to keep in mind: its overall shape, and its wide array of finer details, including the intricate geometry of its wheels and sides. For the best results, we used both Artec Eva and Space Spider. 

About the 3D Scan method by Artec : first up was Eva. The vehicle has been sprayed with an anti-gloss spray to scan its reflective surface, which enabled a fast and easy scan of the bike’s overall shape. The seat and gas tank had no features, which can make scanning difficult, so we pasted several pieces of masking tape on these otherwise smooth surfaces for an easy scan that took just 15 minutes. 

For the rest of the bike, no extra features were needed. As you can see, the vehicle with all its various mechanical parts is packed full of rich geometry. While these complex shapes are great for scanning, they also took a lot of time — an hour and a half, to be precise. A definite highlight in this process was the bike chain: with its thin, repetitive shape, we assumed it would be a bigger challenge than it was. Ultimately, Space Spider’s scanning depth of 300 to 400 millimeters was enough to capture the background behind it.