ZG technology 3D scanners

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Shawn_Laughlin
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ZG technology 3D scanners

Post by Shawn_Laughlin »

For the last 3 years I have heavily researched 3D scanners trying to learn as much as I can without having one In my hand to help me decide on which brand and model to purchase.

Through all that I was down to Creaform, scantech or shining 3d metrology grade blue laser scanners bc that’s mostly what you see when searching 3D industrial laser scanners.

A wrench was thrown into my decision when I came across ZG Technology and their RegalScan and MarvelScan and I have to say I’m blown away but at the same time I’m very suspicious.

Why is there not much on them on the internet unless you right out search the name? Especially with them having products that are more advanced than the Handyscan black elite which is suppose to be the cream of the crop of handheld 3D laser scanners from people who have enough money to own one or more.

I emailed them and they were very quick at responding which is a huge plus in my book bc trying to get info on the brands listed above and pricing is a hard chore. You have to go through so many people and it’s like they still don’t want to tell you how much it is. Why is that a secret? Well I’ve got an idea.

So does anyone here have experience with ZG Technology and maybe the regal scan or marvel scan?

I would love to hear what y’all’s “Yes I’m From Texas haha” experience has been? Pleasant or not so pleasant?

As an American who speaks English only, is the software interface going to be a pain to understand? Is it intuitive?

Are they high quality scanners?

Do they have the ability to scan data in inches?

And lastly since pricing is all over the place from what I’ve seen from 10k to 100k usd could someone please clear this up for me.

Thanks
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Re: ZG technology 3D scanners

Post by Jason Warren »

Sorry I haven't come across ZG Technology before but its interesting that Hexagon acquired ZG Technology back in 27.08.2021... ;)

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Hexagon Announces Acquisition of ZG Technology
Views: 1162 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2021-08-27 Origin: Site

Hexagon Group and ZG Technology Co., Ltd. has announced the signing of a shareholding merger agreement to improve its capabilities in the field of 3D data acquisition and further expand Hexagon's solution portfolio in the field of intelligent manufacturing. After the acquisition, ZG will be incorporated into Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence Unit.

Founded in 2014, ZG Technology Co., Ltd. provides users with 3D digital solutions based on the background of the photogrammetry and remote sensing disciplines of Wuhan University. All products in the product portfolio are developed independently with self-owned software copyrights and patents.

ZG 3D scanning technology breaks the limitations of traditional measurement and data processing methods. It can quickly scan the measured object in a complex production environment, and easily obtain high-precision 3D scan data of various irregular, standard or non-standard parts. Three-dimensional modeling, measurement, detection and virtual reproduction of objects have significant advantages such as flexible portability, non-contact, real-time dynamics, digitization, and automation. At present, ZG products and 3D scanning technology have been widely used in automobile manufacturing, aerospace, rail transit, machinery and heavy industry, mold/casting, cultural museum art, biomedicine, industry/home, education and scientific research, 3D printing, VR/AR display, etc. In recent years, it has accumulated more than 2,000 3D engineering projects experience.

Li Hongquan, Senior Vice President of Hexagon Group and President of Greater China, said: “ZG’s 3D digital solution and Hexagon’s existing metrology industry complement each other. We will introduce ZG Technology into Hexagon, and we will work hand in hand to start a new journey. After integration, it can provide users with perfect and comprehensive digital solutions, fully tap the potential of data intelligence, help users improve quality, efficiency and productivity, and open up new horizons in the grand vision of intelligent manufacturing.”

https://www.3d-zg.com/Hexagon-Announces ... 26199.html
https://www.zg-3d.com/
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Re: ZG technology 3D scanners

Post by Denysgtr »

I didn't know that either. But it's interesting.
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Re: ZG technology 3D scanners

Post by Shawn_Laughlin »

Well obviously I didn’t know that and thank you. I’ve got the money to buy the simscan42 and I’m just torn between it and the Handyscan black elite. The extra 20k for a demo or 36k for a new is racking my brain. Really. I can’t sleep no sit
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Re: ZG technology 3D scanners

Post by 3D_scan_dude »

I am curious why Hexagon is not investing in ZG or bringing that tech to the USA.

Regarding the other brands you are looking at... We extensively reviewed about a dozen brands of scanners last year. We had issues with several brands of Chinese-made scanners. The support in China is around a 12 hour response time so it took nearly 2 weeks of working on a hardware issue before we gave up. The scanners made in China are inferior to everything else on the market.

We chose the Handy Scan Black Elite from Creaform. Its been a great little scanner for us. The software was the main difference. Good luck in your search!
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Re: ZG technology 3D scanners

Post by 3D_scan_dude »

I think it may have something to do with the litigation between Creaform and Scantech. It is my understanding Scantech lost in Chinese court and filed an appeal. Hexagon needs a handheld because the portable CCM arms are a dying technology. Portable metrology is the future of 3D measurement in my humble opinion.
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Re: ZG technology 3D scanners

Post by masterpine »

Bit of thread necromancy here but if people are curious about the ZG scanners we've been running one the ZG RigelScan Elite's for the last couple of months. Previous experience has been with a Creaform HandySCAN 3D Black Elite, which will be my point of reference. My general TLDR is that the ZG is a more capable unit than the Creaform Elite, but you've got to be willing to put up with a lot more jank to get there.

Firstly, the pricing. For equivalent units you're generally getting something from ZG for 25% less at a minimum. This probably shouldn't be a huge motivating factor but it does help. You've got to balance that with support and technical assistance being a bit tougher. I will say though that ZG are very quick to suggest video chat sessions to run through issues and provide tips and assistance, these have been very professional and useful. It does help that we're in Western Australia, so time-zone to China isn't a problem.

The software side of things is a little tougher than VXElements, it's not as intuitive and there is some fiddly nonsense with unit warmup and order of operation that takes some getting used to. For final exports to clients, I'll generally do a little bit of work in other software to finalise. If you're after zero-stress scanning these aren't really there yet, the interface is basically circa 2015 GeomagicWrap so if you're used to that you'll be right at home.

Performance though, once you've got things set up nice and have a decent amount of familiarity with the unit, is excellent. The quoted accuracies are no joke, data is exceptionally clean, collection is incredibly fast, very impressive stuff. We've verified the quoted 0.02/0.01 accuracies, it's a workhorse of a scanner. One thing I really like is that all scanning operations can be tweaked and executed using the controls on the unit itself, I spend no time jumping between my laptop and the items I'm scanning which is great since most of our works are for items on the larger side. We've pushed the quoted scanning areas much higher than the quote tech specs with no issues.

I can understand why ZG hasn't entered western markets though, it often feels like using a device and package which is in a beta state. If you're willing to put up with that though, and we certainly are, they make some very good kit.
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Re: ZG technology 3D scanners

Post by Digitize_USA »

3D_scan_dude wrote: Sat Aug 05, 2023 3:51 am I think it may have something to do with the litigation between Creaform and Scantech. It is my understanding Scantech lost in Chinese court and filed an appeal. Hexagon needs a handheld because the portable CCM arms are a dying technology. Portable metrology is the future of 3D measurement in my humble opinion.
Where did Scantech lose in court? Can you please cite a source? This is mostly a non-issue at this point with other larger OEM's much larger than Creaform making handhelds.
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Re: ZG technology 3D scanners

Post by Digitize_USA »

3D_scan_dude wrote: Sat Apr 22, 2023 6:25 pm I am curious why Hexagon is not investing in ZG or bringing that tech to the USA.

Regarding the other brands you are looking at... We extensively reviewed about a dozen brands of scanners last year. We had issues with several brands of Chinese-made scanners. The support in China is around a 12 hour response time so it took nearly 2 weeks of working on a hardware issue before we gave up. The scanners made in China are inferior to everything else on the market.

We chose the Handy Scan Black Elite from Creaform. Its been a great little scanner for us. The software was the main difference. Good luck in your search!
I sell Scantech products. I would welcome the opportunity to show you a Scantech scanner compared to your Handyscan Black. We could scan the same part with the same resolution and compare the results. Please DM me and we can set something up. All of our customers work directly with us so there is no need to work with China. That's like saying you have to call Korea if you have a problem with your Hyundai.
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Re: ZG technology 3D scanners

Post by Priority3d »

I have the Marvelscan from ZG Technology. I personally use it and love it. As with any technology, there is always room for improvement. I have owned a Handyscan 700 and had the Scantech Kscan Magic 2 demoed for me 3 times. All 3 times, the person demoing the Scantech product was not very good with it and couldn't properly demo it.

1 issue I had with the Scantech units was that it had no option to export the mesh in imperial units instead of metric. I was told by the Scantech people that it would be added by end of year. That was 3 years ago. Last time I had a demo done, about a year ago, they still had no option for imperial units.

ZG Technology also did not export in imperial units but their sales guy, Jimmy Li was very communicative and knowledgeable. They performed an online demo for me and answered the ton of questions I had on it. They assured me they were working on the imperial units option and so I purchased the Marvelscan. Withing a couple of months they released the software update adding in the imperial units option. Promise Kept!

As for comparing the various scanners, here are some of my thoughts on them.

Handyscan: Great scanner, but it comes at the highest cost. Software is well done and intuitive. Scan data looks great. Everything works pretty easily. All of the accessories and consumables from them are very expensive, but they are in Canada so easier tech support and quicker ordering. I believe they even have a calibration location in US now. 1 downside is that you can't use 3mm and 6 mm targets at same time. Or at least the people I know that own the Handyscan Black Elite do not know how to if so.

Scantech: Not really sure on their scanners. My experiences with them were not good at all, but maybe it was just poor sales people not having the proper knowledge of them. The data did not look good, was very noisy and I was unable to keep tolerances within specified specs when measuring a ballbar. I do not know if you can use 3mm and 6mm targets at same time, though I think you can. I do not know if they ever implemented imperial units.

Marvelscan: Excellent Scanner. The cost on it is considerably less than Creaform's offerings. Software is decent, though it could use some improvement, I have no issues using it, though I have submitted feedback on various areas of improvement. I have seen lots of added features added throughout the time I have had the Marvelscan. Their cost on consumables are very inexpensive and work great. The consumables also work for other scanners so if someone needs less expensive alternatives for targets, feel free to contact me as I am an authorized reseller for ZG Technology. ZG Technology does not charge for Software updates, which is a HUGE cost savings. I also purchased the wireless battery pack for it and it has been invaluable for some of my jobs. The tech support has been great, but there is a delay in getting support in the US due to time differences. I have not had need for tech support much at all though.

In conclusion, from my experience, you can't go wrong with a Handyscan or ZG Technology scanner, but I personally wouldn't get a Scantech scanner, unless things have drastically changed. I chose the Marvelscan due to the cost effectiveness of it, both initially and in the consumables, as well as free software updates. I do not regret it at all. If anyone in the US is looking for more info or a demo on the Marvelscan, or are looking for more cost effective consumables, send me a PM and I will be happy to help out.
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