Hi guys
I've been with a small company for several years and I'm now ready to cut loose and start solo. We used a old Geodimeter Total Station for doing construction setting out of large houses and also topo surveys.
I have a fair bit saved up and would like to invest it in some gear for now and the future. I'd like to get into laser scanning in about 3 years or so once I'm got used to doing things by myself.
I've been offered a good deal on an almost new 3 sec Trimble S7 with Vision and I'm tempted. I've heard the Vision is a really useful tool I think it'll be handy for rough (not detailed) scanning of elevations. Thing I'm not sure about is will it be worth paying the extra to get Trimble Vision as it may become redundant when I get a laser scanner in a few years. Or is it worth having a scanning total station and laser scanner long term.
The other option is to get a second hand T6 (no scanning) now and still get a laser scanner in a few years as planned.
Hope you understand the question!
Thanks in advance, John.
Vision is not scanning. Just pictures. And you have to have TBC, with Vision capabilities to extract. We have it on 3 of our robots and we have not used it once.
The S7 will do a surface scan, basically DR in a pattern, but it's slow. You can get into scanning pretty cheaply with a Faro scanner.
If you are going on your own, don't buy anything, just rent or lease. Pass the fee on to the client. Save your cash for living costs. if it doesn't work out your not stuck with a robot. You can always "buy" an instrument in a few years with all that surplus cash..
N10,000, E7,000, Z100.00 PLS - MO, KS, CO, MN, KY
Agree with Stl, if you get a scanning project, rent it from a Leica dealer, MS-60 or the new BLK360. Save up cash and pay cash for what you do eventually buy, don't borrow money!
cheers guys
I do have the cash to buy a total station now. Have been saving up for a good number of years.
I know renting and leasing makes sense, on paper and from an accounting point of view,
There is just something about owning your own equipment and not having to worry about bidding jobs a little low to make sure you can make the monthly note, or I better take this job to make it worth the rental fee, also it seems you always pay more for the equipment in the long run with renting then if you just brought it out right. Then once its pay for you have a backup equipment.
However with a scanner those things are expensive, I would rent one when needed, then if I had enough scanning work I would sit down and see if it was worth buying.
There was a whole slew of used Leica TS12P's that hit this site for sale yesterday. The Allegro MX with SurvCE/Leica robot combo is tough to beat. From what I saw they all looked to be in good shape and were in the $8-$10k range which is pretty reasonable. You can recoup your equipment costs whether you buy outright or rent/lease; you just have to always be thinking about doing it when you're pricing jobs. Because of the premium you're going to have to pay for a scanning total station I would recommend not going that route and use the savings to buy other things like a digital level or GPS antenna. If you get a scanning job rent a full blown scanner and knock it out in an hour rather than a day with a TS scanner (or 1 day instead of 3).
I went down to my local Savings & Loan to be able to purchase major equipment.
With scanning, I would look at the new BLK360 from Leica. 17k out the door and really does most of what we would need. I also hear it is going to be able to be exported to several different software packages after being processed through Recap.
Total stations. I am a fan of Leica. Not necessarily because I think they are the best at everything, but they are solid, well built and work with Carlson for an extra charge, and that is what I need. Our entire software environment is Carlson so it makes sense to have their DCs as much as possible.
I also have an S6 that is a really smooth instrument, just not as many options with software. Honestly, between Trimble or Leica you can't go wrong. I also wouldn't shy away from a good used instrument from a good surveyor or dealer. You can find some really good deals and you can save some bones and get a long-term piece of equipment starting out.
C.Tompkins, post: 456110, member: 975 wrote: With scanning, I would look at the new BLK360 from Leica. 17k out the door and really does most of what we would need. I also hear it is going to be able to be exported to several different software packages after being processed through Recap.
I would stay away from the Blk360. On the laserscanning forum there are a lot of problems posted. To me it seems like a toy. No control possible when scanning. Look at a faro to start scanning if you haven't done this before.
I'm not a fan of renting. You pay way too much to rent it, losing time to fetch it, no opportunity to test different settings,...
C.Tompkins, post: 456110, member: 975 wrote: With scanning, I would look at the new BLK360 from Leica. 17k out the door and really does most of what we would need. I also hear it is going to be able to be exported to several different software packages after being processed through Recap.
.
Unless you really know what you are doing with scanning, and where the BLK360 fits into the overall scene this is not good advice.
If it will do what you need, and that's the limit of your scanning requirements, fine. There's a reason it's 17k and a real scanner is about 3x that price or more.
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beuckie, post: 456113, member: 2245 wrote: On the laserscanning forum there are a lot of problems posted.
where can one find this forum?
beuckie, post: 456113, member: 2245 wrote: I would stay away from the Blk360. On the laserscanning forum there are a lot of problems posted. To me it seems like a toy. No control possible when scanning. Look at a faro to start scanning if you haven't done this before.
I'm not a fan of renting. You pay way too much to rent it, losing time to fetch it, no opportunity to test different settings,...
I am not seeing alot of problems with the BLK posted on that forum. Most except one seem to workflow issues. I wouldn't dismiss the BLK without using it first. If you have actually used one fair enough if you are seeing problems.
I rent the higher level scanners as needed and it works out well. It wouldn't make sense for me to buy.
I think the BLK360 is going to be a game changer as it relates to BIM. It's not suited for large Civil applications with it's limited distance and accuracy at range. It just depends on what type of scanning jobs John wants to go after.