An improved dimensional detection system is portable and can be used to characterize a workpiece. The dimensional detection system employs as few as a single focused light source and as few as a single camera along with a calibration data set to convert the illuminated pixels of an image of a beam on the workpiece into a cloud of real world points in space on an outer surface of the workpiece. The cloud of points can be processed to characterize the workpiece, such as by determining the right hexahedron that would encompass all of the real world points in space and which could be used to determine a dimensional weight of the workpiece.