Best value scanner for personal use?

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doublec4
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Best value scanner for personal use?

Post by doublec4 »

Hello everyone,

This thread will serve as my introduction to the forum, as well as a place where I hope to get some advice from you experienced guys.

I'm new to the 3D scanning world but I have experience with 3D printing, different CAD packages, CAM software, and so on. I'm an engineer by trade and love to design and build even after my 9-5 job is done.

Somewhat recently I had the pleasure of using a Faro hand held scanner as part of a demonstration at my workplace and although it was much too expensive to purchase for my personal use, I was hoping there would be something out there that was more affordable to purchase for myself.

Basically I'm looking for the most versatile scanner for my money. I would likely be scanning objects both large (vehicle bumpers / fenders) and small. I would possibly be scanning in a variety of lighting conditions due to the nature of my subject (mostly automotive). I do not require micron accuracy (probably just closer to the mm range).

What would your suggestions be? Are there currently any options that would suit my requirements? Any guidance would be really appreciated! Thank you!

Just for fun, this is the suspension spindle from my vehicle I was able to recreate in CAD using the Faro scan:

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Re: Best value scanner for personal use?

Post by Matt Young »

Welcome to the Forum Chris :D

I'm sure you will find a wealth of information here.
If you don't see that there is nothing, then you are kidding yourself.
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Re: Best value scanner for personal use?

Post by Bill-Wallace »

If you had some software like Geomagic or Polyworks or 3D Reshaper that can find geometry in meshes then you could use Recap or other very low cost camera solutions. With Recap you take 10's or better hundreds of photos of the same thing from all angles and their engine creates a very accurate mesh. You just need to include something to set the scale.

Then you can reverse out the geometry from the mesh if you have such a tool.

Just one path of many.

Buy an old articulated arm. These can be hooked right up to SolidWorks or Inventor, etc.

Just saying a scanner isn't always the best solution. Small parts have a huge legacy of capture so lots of existing tools.
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Re: Best value scanner for personal use?

Post by doublec4 »

Thanks for the advice!

I was leaning towards a hand held because of convenience and compactness.

I came across the "Cubify Sense 3D" and thought it might be a good option. Has anyone had any experience with that?
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Re: Best value scanner for personal use?

Post by Andrej »

Hi

if you are looking for a affordable hand scanner the cheapest option is a X box connect sensor(around a $150) than the "structural sensor" ($500)which works with IPads as an add on. The next option the Project Tango($1024) which properly gives you the same out come. Regarding the accuracy you will looking at a few millimetres which may not satisfy you.

Much better product is the DotProduct ($5000) however it is quite expansive. Next level up then would be the Faro Free Style which cost around the $12k mark. There are other hand scanner in the market however I looked my self at this ones. (still waiting for a Faro Free Style demo)

Another option is photogrammetry which can give you sub millimetre accuracy with a good SLR.

Every tool has is pro and con. Software is as important as you like to get the data into you CAD program.

Welcome to the Forum

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Re: Best value scanner for personal use?

Post by 3DForensics »

Look at the David Laser scanner. In terms of bang for your buck and versatility, it would rank fairly high for the price. It is a scalable system where you can choose to buy their kit or invest in your own hardware. worth a look.
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Re: Best value scanner for personal use?

Post by Mike Annear »

I will also recommend the David Scanner, I have one and use it quite a bit for small projects.
(objects up to 2m )
I have also bought the Asus Xtion Live Pro sensor with "Skanect" software. (~$350)
We did a direct comparison with the Dot Product DPI-7 ... not much difference except price :)

The advantage of the David and the Skanect solutions is that they both create a coloured mesh as an output,
No need for meshing software.
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Re: Best value scanner for personal use?

Post by doublec4 »

Thanks again guys.

So I checked out a few of your suggestions but some of the specs I found for the David Scanner starter kit weren't quite inline with what I was hoping to achieve. The reviews online (for the starter kit) didn't really seem fantastic. The better packages were a little more than I was hoping to spend.

I ended up (somewhat impulsively) buying the "Sense 3D" since it was only $400

http://cubify.com/en/Products/Sense

I figure I can try it out and in the worst case, return it to Best Buy if it doesn't work well.

It also scans in color and seems pretty easy to use. Once I get going with it I'll post up some results / reviews!
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Re: Best value scanner for personal use?

Post by dschroder »

doublec4 wrote:Thanks again guys.

So I checked out a few of your suggestions but some of the specs I found for the David Scanner starter kit weren't quite inline with what I was hoping to achieve. The reviews online (for the starter kit) didn't really seem fantastic. The better packages were a little more than I was hoping to spend.

I ended up (somewhat impulsively) buying the "Sense 3D" since it was only $400

http://cubify.com/en/Products/Sense

I figure I can try it out and in the worst case, return it to Best Buy if it doesn't work well.

It also scans in color and seems pretty easy to use. Once I get going with it I'll post up some results / reviews!
I am interested to see what you think of the Sense 3D. For the most part the reviews that I saw of it were not promising but there were a few people that said it worked well. I am wondering if peoples expectations for ease of use were too high and didn't really understand what they were doing.

For whatever its worth I have used the David SLS software with a webcam and projector and it seemed to work pretty well. I have done reverse engineering for engine components with the Artec Spider and I believe that the David would do pretty well for similar scans. If the Sense doesn't work out for you the David scanner might be your next best alternative for about 1000USD. I know people have integrated an Arduino controlled turn table that makes scanning parts pretty automated. If you check out the David scanner forums you can see what people do with the software and it is really impressive.
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