What's the difference between the M70 from Faro and the BLK360 from Leica? Are they "similar enough" or is one better than the other?
The BLK is a viable visualization tool that is not meant for engineering.
For starters, the BLK doesn’t have an inclinometer. If you need to perform deviation analysis of walls and floors, the BLK will not be the appropriate hardware for such an endeavor.
Also, if you look at the full price charged for the BLK with everything needed (iPad, tripod, software), I think you will find the M70 is about the same price and worth it.
You can still use ReCAP pro to register your data instead of SCENE if that is the direction you want to go.
Here are other differences between the FARO M70 and the Leica BLK 360
- M70 scans up to 70m the BLK specs claim up to 60m but a 40m max recommend range for decent registration
- M70 is +- 3mm the BLK is +-4mm (if you read closely on the tech sheet the BLK ranging is really +-8mm at 20m). The FARO M70 ranges at +-3mm at 25m.
- M70 scans up to 488,000 pts/second BLK scans up to 360,000 pts/second
- M70 is 9lbs the BLK is 2lbs (this is important because the vibrations on a jobsite will make a 2lb instrument move, which will affect your data collection, scan noise and accuracy)
- BLK you have to upload the data to the cloud to be processed, this is not completely secure and when dealing with data on secure sites or government work uploading to a cloud is not an option.
- You will still have to buy an iPad to collect and process the data and software
This is what customers who have tried the BLK have shared with us. The data provided is comparing the FARO M70 data and BLK 360 data:
- -40m max recommended range decent registration.
- -IP rating is good, does not work in any humidity or dust.
- No repair capabilities – if it breaks, it’s replaced (see lead time).
- No calibration certificate at all, or calibration process.
- Major issues staying in sync between scanner and iPad. Often had to leave the iPad on the ground next to the scanner
- Parallax issues with the colorization process causing effects in the scans
- Zero data, not little data, on black or shiny surfaces. Not enough to make or start a cad model
- Overall ranking as a visualization tool only
Hope that helps in deciding what is best for your needs! Please reach out to us with any questions.