Yes. LINDELACR provides on-site 3D laser scanning—or works from the contractor’s point cloud—so complex aluminum exteriors fit the as-built frame. The scan becomes millions of XYZ points, then shop drawings and CNC nests for 3003-H14 cassettes, typically 2.0–3.0 mm with PVDF ≥ 30 μm, before any tray leaves Foshan.
Tape measures fail between the control points
A total station is excellent for setting a grid. It is a poor map of a cassette. Complex exteriors fail in the span between those points: a slab that bowed 12–18 mm, a column that drifted after pour, a renovation where the original drawing no longer matches the wall. Traditional offset strings cannot record the continuous elevation a folded 2.0–3.0 mm tray must follow. LiDAR can.
LINDELACR treats the point cloud as the measured surface and the architectural model as intent. Clash is resolved in the split—inside the customized-for-you engineering path—not on a gondola with a grinder. That is the difference between “we can scan” as a brochure line and scan as a hold point before coil is allocated.
| Method | What it records | When LINDELACR uses it |
|---|---|---|
| Tape / laser disto | Discrete lengths and diagonals | Simple interiors, 1100 linings, low-wind boxes |
| Total station | Control points and grid | Setting-out; not a cassette surface |
| On-site 3D LiDAR | Continuous XYZ of structure and interfaces | Curves, hyperbolic work, renovations, as-built cores |
| Imported contractor cloud | Same datum if registered to project coords | When the GC already scanned the frame |
Step-by-step: on-site scan to a tray that fits
1. Capture the as-built exterior. Technicians station the scanner where the cladding will actually hang—corners, soffits, returns, and interfaces with glass. A new-build core is scanned after primary structure is up and before the first nest is cut. A renovation is scanned because the wall has already moved.
2. Register a usable cloud. Scans are aligned to the project coordinate system and cleaned of scaffolding noise. The deliverable is not a fly-through mesh. It is a surface from which panel length, fold depth, and joint taper can be read.
3. Overlay CAD and freeze shop drawings. Facade engineers drop the design grid onto the cloud. Where the two disagree, the cassette absorbs the delta: a deeper return, a tapered joint, a split that follows real steel. Shop drawings freeze each nest before CNC. The cloud does not replace those drawings; it feeds them.
4. Split into manufacturable trays. Compound geometry is subdivided into sky curved panel modules, flat cassettes, or hyperbolic petals. Hole patterns, if specified, are nested on the same 3003-H14 plate after folds are locked so perforation does not drift across a joint.
5. CNC, fold, coat, crate. Locked files drive laser or router nests, brake or stretch forming, and corner close. PVDF to AAMA 2605 with dry film ≥ 30 μm runs in one batch. Crates follow install order on the scanned elevation, not a drawing revision letter that never matched site.
Hard parameters the scan file must carry
A precise cloud does not excuse an unspecified skin. Exterior work at LINDELACR still follows coil logic. Powder to AAMA 2604 is for sheltered or indoor metal, not a full-height rainscreen.
| Parameter | LINDELACR typical spec |
|---|---|
| Exterior alloy | 3003-H14 solid aluminum plate |
| Simple interior / low-wind | 1100 where folds and span allow |
| Exterior thickness | Typically 2.0–3.0 mm (not ACP 0.5 mm skins) |
| Cassette return | Typically 20–25 mm; deeper where scanned span requires |
| Coating (exposed facade) | PVDF to AAMA 2605; dry film ≥ 30 μm |
| Coating (interior / sheltered) | Powder to AAMA 2604 class |
| Stiffness | Plate + return folds + scanned subframe; no PE core |
| Plant | Foshan 20,000 m²; 1,000+ engineering projects |
Thickness is not “3 mm everywhere because we scanned.” A short, well-folded bay can stay at 2.0 mm. A long, weakly returned tray on a high elevation needs 3.0 mm plus a deeper fold. The cloud tells you which bays are which before CNC time is wasted. Wind pressure is calculated per bay and fold from the consultant note; LINDELACR does not publish a fake kPa rating for a generic tower.
Factory insight: CTS Baichen Yunqi and the Foshan split
CTS Baichen Yunqi’s hyperbolic aluminum flower column is the shop-drawing version of the same logic. LINDELACR did not tape a lobby and guess a petal. The plant built a 16-fold radial CAD—plan plus elevation—then parametric petals with a cylindrical hub, a waist, and a flare. Each rib is a unique unfold. That file is what CNC and the brake see. A complex exterior canopy or soffit is the same sequence at building scale: scan or model the surface, freeze the nest, then form 3003-H14.
In the 20,000 m² Foshan plant, scan review, CAD split, CNC, forming, and coating sit in one yard so the team that signed the gap map is the team that checks the first cassette. MOQ follows coating batch and unique dies, not a retail carton. What delays an on-site scan package is almost never the mill. It is a late metallic PVDF change, a radius drawn as single-curved that arrives as a compound surface, or a unitized module whose glass was never coordinated with the scanned mullion.
Typical hold points after the sample is signed: coil allocation, CNC nest, brake or stretch form, corner close where geometry demands it, then PVDF in one batch. Lead time then follows coating queue and crate plan—not the date the consultant’s CAD department was supposed to issue a matching BIM.
Frequently asked questions
Can LINDELACR scan a complex building exterior on site?
Yes. LINDELACR either scans the as-built frame on site or imports the contractor’s LiDAR cloud, then splits 3003-H14 cassettes typically 2.0–3.0 mm with PVDF to AAMA 2605 before CNC. The scan is the fit datum; shop drawings are the output.
When is on-site 3D scanning required instead of tape and drawings?
Use a scan when the elevation is curved, hyperbolic, renovated, or already erected. Tape and IFC drawings miss slab bow and column drift between control points. A point cloud records the continuous surface a 20–25 mm cassette return must follow.
What alloy and thickness does LINDELACR fabricate after a site scan?
Exterior work is typically 3003-H14 solid aluminum at 2.0–3.0 mm with PVDF to AAMA 2605 and dry film ≥ 30 μm. Alloy 1100 is for simple low-wind interiors. Thickness follows scanned span and fold depth, not a catalog default.
What should the contractor send to start an on-site scan package?
Send site access or the registered cloud, a typical bay, target finish, and stick versus unitized logic. LINDELACR returns a panel split, alloy and coating note, a 1:1 sample plan, and a lead-time window from the 20,000 m² Foshan plant.
Request a scan plan and a first cassette
If the structure is already up—or the geometry is curved—send the cloud or allow a site scan. LINDELACR will mark which bays stay flat, which take curve, and which thickness and coating apply before any coil is allocated.
