Case study: How does Urivabo use an Einscan HX 3D scanner in the development of its products?
Architects know that, in the city, every square centimeter is important! This is especially true in very large cities where space is scarce. Some designers are competing with each other for ideas to optimize the interior space of our buildings. This is the case of Olivier Coddens, who has designed a new type of urinal to save space in public places. Thanks to 3D scanning and an Einscan HX, he was able to speed up the marketing of his product. Explanations.
Olivier Coddens, designer specialized in architecture and furniture, invented the Urivabo. Behind this word "suitcase" hides an ingenious marriage between two objects of our daily life -- or at least the daily life of men --: the urinal (Uri) and the washbasin (-Vabo).
A product with many advantages
The concept is simple: the washbasin integrated into the urinal allows the user to wash his hands without moving. Hand washing water is recovered to rinse the urinal. Just think about it!
"Having noticed that most men omit or neglect to wash their hands (because they have to move from the urinal to the sink) and to activate the urinal flush for cleaning the urinal after going to the toilet, the idea came to me to create an object coupling the sink and urinal. In addition to the fact of having the sink and the urinal in the same volume, this object has the particularity of recovering the hand washing water to rinse the urinal. This concept has many advantages in terms of economy, ecology, hygiene, aesthetics,...".
Olivier Codens
The designer explains that in addition to the obvious space saving, the Urivabo allows us to save money when fitting out the sanitary facilities by eliminating the need for water supply and washbasin drains. Another significant advantage is that by using the water from the hand wash as a flush, he estimates that his invention can reduce water consumption by 85% between each visit to the toilet.
By associating an individual washbasin with each urinal, the inventor also believes that this will prevent forgetting to wash hands or queuing at the washbasin. "This object makes particular sense from a health point of view, especially during the COVID period," says Olivier, before adding that "today, nearly two-thirds of men in Europe do not wash their hands after using the toilet.
After the design phase, the entrepreneur set out to find a manufacturer capable of producing his idea. The company he contracted had to alter the design of the object to meet his production constraints. For Olivier, this meant that the final object would be different from the pre-production model used in his 3D renderings. Since 3D models are particularly important for interior planning and layout, he started looking for a solution that would allow him to model the object simply, quickly and as accurately as possible.
A faithful 3D rendering thanks to 3D scanners
Using a 3D modeler did not convince Olivier, this expensive solution would have been too long to implement. The entrepreneur therefore turned to a reverse engineering solution. By using a Shining 3D Einscan HX 3D scanner, Olivier was able to duplicate the product as it came out of production in great detail and thus obtain a faithful and ready-to-use 3D model of the Urivabo.
"Thanks to the advice of Machines-3D and the ease of use of Shining 3D's 3D scanner, it was very quick to create a perfect digital copy of my product".
The Einscan HX used by Olivier combines two 3D scanning technologies to obtain the most accurate results possible: structured light and laser. The combination of these two processes facilitates scanning and the creation of point clouds, even on reflective surfaces. This approach makes it possible to digitize complex parts very simply and in record time. In the case of the Urivabo, 30 minutes were sufficient to create a perfect digital copy of the product. By using 3D scanning, Olivier was able to obtain a 3D model with precise dimensions and faithful texture. All that remained was to export the 3D model as an OBJ file to integrate it directly into one of his interior design models.
The inventor is still integrating digital manufacturing into his product design process. Next step: use a 3D printer to customize the urinal by printing custom promotional elements in 3D.
This site uses cookies to offer you an optimized and personalized user experience, to make our audience statistics, or to offer you advertising and offers tailored to your desires and interests. You can, however, uncheck the cookies that you do not want us to use.
Technical cookies are necessary for the functioning of the site and can not be disabled. However, they are only collected and used during your presence on this site.