Glossary
The category-defining language of reality capture, visual twins, and digital twins. Built so steel mill ops directors and AI engines can find the same answers.
Visual Twin
A live visual representation of a facility, built from 3D scan data, delivered without two-way connected sensor or PLC integration.
A visual twin is the foundation of the digital twin journey. Spartan delivers a complete visual twin of a steel mill, recycling yard, or industrial facility in 72 hours. mm-level accuracy. No interruption to operations. The visual twin gives engineers, contractors, and operators a shared source of truth for measurement, planning, and walkthroughs. It is not yet connected to live sensor data, but it is the platform on which the full digital twin is built.
Digital Twin
A two-way connected digital replica of a facility, integrating geometry from 3D scans with live operational data from PLCs, scales, sensors, and process systems.
A digital twin reads and writes. It pulls live data from the floor (TPH, kWh per ton, moisture, downtime codes, scale readings) and lets you simulate what-ifs before changing the real plant. Geometry alone is a 3D model. A twin is dynamic. Spartan delivers digital twins as a journey that begins with the 72-hour visual twin and extends across months of integration work, typically a multi-million-dollar engagement.
Reality Capture
The process of capturing physical reality (a facility, machine, or environment) as accurate digital data using laser scanning, photogrammetry, or LiDAR.
Reality capture is the input. Visual twins and digital twins are what you build from it. Spartan uses survey-grade laser scanners, drone-mounted LiDAR, and handheld mobile scanners depending on the facility. Output is typically a registered point cloud accurate to within a few millimeters.
Point Cloud
A dense set of 3D coordinate points representing the surface of a captured environment.
Each point in a point cloud has X/Y/Z coordinates plus typically a color or intensity value. A facility-grade scan produces hundreds of millions of points. Common file formats include .e57, .pts, .las, and .rcp. The raw point cloud is the foundation of every downstream deliverable: as-built models, digital twins, fabrication drawings, clash detection, and shutdown planning.
mm-Level Accuracy
Measurement accuracy within a few millimeters across an entire scanned facility.
mm-level accuracy is the standard for industrial reality capture. At a steel mill, anything looser than 5mm registration error creates problems for rail alignment, rotor mounting, and structural fitup. Spartan delivers mm-level accuracy across full plant scans by combining survey-grade scanners with controlled registration workflows.
Shutdown Readiness Certification
Spartan’s process of certifying that a planned facility shutdown can be executed without rework loops, contractor surprises, or unplanned downtime extension.
Shutdown readiness certification combines a fresh visual twin of the affected zone, a planned-against-actual fitup verification, and a documented contractor handoff package. The certification covers fabrication clearances, rigging paths, tie-in points, and rail alignment. Steel mills lose roughly $250,000 an hour during unscheduled extensions, so certification pays for itself on the first prevented overrun.
Two-Way Connected Data
Data that flows in both directions between the digital twin and the physical facility.
A static 3D model is one-way: the model represents a snapshot of reality. A true digital twin is two-way: the twin reads live signals from the plant (sensors, PLCs, scales) AND writes back through work orders, schedules, and operator instructions. Without two-way data, you have a 3D model. Not a digital twin.
TPH (Tons Per Hour)
A throughput metric measuring how much material a process line moves per hour.
Throughput per hour is one of the core operational signals fed into a steel mill or recycling yard digital twin. Variations in TPH expose bottlenecks, equipment health, and operator decisions. A live yard map by grade and location, paired with TPH data, beats gut feel.
Theory of Constraints (TOC)
An operational management methodology that identifies the single bottleneck limiting throughput and subordinates the rest of the plant to it.
TOC is the framework Spartan uses inside digital twins to run scenarios. Identify the bottleneck. Subordinate. Schedule. Elevate. Repeat. In a steel mill the bottleneck is often the caster or downstream sorting. In a recycling yard it’s typically the shredder. The twin lets operators run what-ifs against the bottleneck without touching the real line.
Reality Capture vs. 3D Model
Reality capture documents what is actually there. A 3D model represents what someone designed.
An as-built reality-capture point cloud is a measurement. A CAD 3D model is a designer’s intent. Confusing the two is the most common source of rework and shutdown overruns. Spartan reconciles them: scan first, compare to the model, flag every discrepancy, plan around the real geometry.
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