About VTube-LASER Cut Planes

Why Use VTube-LASER Cut Planes?

VTube-LASER can measure a part on a flat surface using the Cut Plane feature. Cut Planes will remove any laser points beyond the measured plane.

However, please be careful about the type of surface you use for Cut Planes. For example, shiny or glass Cut Planes will not work well.

Potential Cut Plane Issue 1: Material Reflectivity

Certain types of surfaces can create flier points (noise). To mitigate this problem, pay attention to the cut plane surface used. If the Cut Plane surface is reflective or has chamfered holes, it may cause issues.

We prefer to use a black rubber mat for our Cut Plane surface. Darker surfaces with a flat finish are ideal. Concrete floors are excellent. Dark grey granite surfaces are suitable. Avoid scanning over embedded threaded holes on the granite tables.

Potential Cut Plane Issue 2: High and Low Spots on the Surface

See these illustrations for how to overcome deformed Cut Plane surfaces.

We show points scanned using the Point Cloud control in both images below. You can use the Point Cloud scanning to test the Cut Plane. After the test is complete, we suggest that you delete the points from the Point Cloud control menu.
The Cut Plane calculation uses a single average plane representing one planar surface for the entire Cut Plane surface measured.
If any part of the table rises, that part can be above the Cut Plane.
In the left image, see the section in the middle of the table that is part of the point cloud because it is slightly above the Cut Plane.

There are two exclusive solutions to this issue:

Either increase the cut plane offset to overcome the rise.
Or create the Cut Plane from the high spot alone.

Scan data of the middle of the table was includded in this scan. The Cut Plane offset is 0.125 inches. This means that the table is rising more than 0.125 inches as a plane at the middle of the table.

The solution was to increase the Cut Plane offset to 0.250 inches. Cut Plane offsets can be as large as half the diameter of the tube you are scanning.

Video Tutorial for How to Create A Cut Plane

Watch the video below showing how to create a new Cut Plane.

If using the laser to measure the cut plane, make sure the Planar Normal Angle Filter is set to at least 20 degrees in the Measure Setup > Planar tab

Diameter Cut Plane

After creating a Cut Plane, we recommend learning about Diameter Cut Planes and their benefit.