# 3D Design / 3D Scanning / 3D Modeling > 3D Modeling, Design, Scanners >  3d scanners under $1000 worth the money?

## steveseers

Hey guys,

I've been browsing the web looking for a 3d scanner. I'm a beginner and find 3d modeling a bit time consuming. Especially when it comes to intricate shapes. I am printing on my Ultimaker (and Shapeways occasionally)
However, when I look at the 3d scanners <$1000 they seem to produce quite nasty/low res results.
Is that just where the tech is at the moment? Or does anyone have (or have used) a scanner that they are really happy with?
Any recommendations?  I've looked at MatterAndForm, Rubicon, Fuel3d (available yet?), Einscan (expensive, not sure about the quality), David Scan (really expensive, nice quality).

any help appreciated.
-Jack

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## curious aardvark

I think it's where the tech is at the moment. 

I don't think it's so much the hardware. Most of the budget scanners will resolve at 0.1 mm for close up items and 1mm for things like people - both of which should do most people for most things. But the editing and meshing software doesn't seem to be quite there yet. 

Once the intel realsense chipset and cameras start to make a regular appearence in cheaper portable devices, we should start to see a lot more software hitting the market. 

At the moment what scanner systems there are all use their own propriatary software and chipsets. 

That was one thing that was notable by it's absence at tct this year. No desktop scanners, no desktop scanner startups and only the makerbot scanner in evidence and the only one we saw wasn't running.

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## Hugues

I have an Einscan1 and very happy with it.
0.1 mm accuracy
Almost below 1000 usd
Ease of use, calibrate once.

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## Bobby Lin

I tried Rubicon at around $600 USD and it has a good precision, accuracy and quality. However now I switched to 3d System's iSense.

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## scobo

I just bought a BQ Ciclop kit which is about the cheapest scanner on the market right now.
I can get a decent looking point cloud with it but I'm finding it hard to convert it to a useable mesh for 3D printing. 
As said above, the software for this doesn't seem quite there yet.

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## dklassen

With a little work and research you can get a David system close to a grand. $500 for the software, $350 for the projector, 3D print the mounts, us a v-slot rail, cheap tri-pod and you are almost there. For the camera you can up the ante and go with an industrial cam similar to what David supplies only a lot cheaper or modify a webcam for evan a cheaper solution. I have basically the equivalency of their SLS-2 system that I specked myself and all in I was at $2100 but that included a band new dedicated laptop to run it all. For the money, nothing can touch the SLS-2 system...if you put in a little effort. IMHO.

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## steveseers

@curious aardvark  :  I kinda see the scanner and software as a two sides of the same product. I look at it from the end result point of view and expect to use the hardware with the software provided before I go shopping for 3rd party improvements. Trying to find out to what point my purchase gets me before I get the chisel out  :Smile:   Also, I'm not sure that most scanners in the lower price range can really scan 0.1mm. Why would all the scans look so blobby? Or is that a result of some kind of noise reduction?

Hugues, Bobby Lin, dklassen:  You seem happy with your scanners. What kinds of things are you guys scanning?

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## steveseers

@Bobby Lin : Why did you switch to iSense? How does it compare quality wise ? Or is it just more convenient?

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## steveseers

> I just bought a BQ Ciclop kit which is about the cheapest scanner on the market right now.
> I can get a decent looking point cloud with it but I'm finding it hard to convert it to a useable mesh for 3D printing. 
> As said above, the software for this doesn't seem quite there yet.


have you tried meshlab ? or what software do you use to mesh the pc ?

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## scobo

> have you tried meshlab ? or what software do you use to mesh the pc ?


I'm using Meshlab and Cloudcompare but neither is giving me a mesh that looks good enough to 3D print. 
Having said that, if I try to set the reconstruction quality much higher than the default, I get out of memory error messages or the program hangs.
My laptop is an i5 with 4GB ram.
Maybe a more powerful computer and/or graphics card is needed for better results ??

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## Hugues

> .. Also, I'm not sure that most scanners in the lower price range can really scan 0.1mm. Why would all the scans look so blobby? Or is that a result of some kind of noise reduction?
> 
> Hugues, Bobby Lin, dklassen:  You seem happy with your scanners. What kinds of things are you guys scanning?


Hi,

My Einscan1 can scan at 0.1mm. I scanned a plane and measured the deviations with Meshlab. You can also look at the attached picture. I scanned my motorbike helmet. At the back of it, they have embossed NOLAN. The thickness of the emboss is 0.1 mm with round edges, same colour as the surrounding. The scanner picked it up. No blobs.

These days i'm scanning mostly parts on my motorbike, which i then bring into my CAD, then design other parts around the scanned part, to mate with it.

NOLAN helmet.jpg

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## curious aardvark

If you look at the matter and form and the einscan - 0.1mm is the stated resolution for small object. 

scan something liek aperson and it goes up to around 1mm or higer - which is still a humoungous amount of data to deal with. 

And it doesn't take particularly expensive cameras and lasers to get that resolution. But it does require very sophisticated software to deal with the mass of datd and try and decide what's object and what's background. 

So yeah at the moment the hardware is cheap and available - the software just needs another generation or so to get to the point that you have proper point-scan & print capability. 

One thing it might be worth looking at is an all in one scanner and printer. 
the zeus looks pretty good: http://www.zeus.aiorobotics.com/

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## scobo

> One thing it might be worth looking at is an all in one scanner and printer. 
> the zeus looks pretty good: http://www.zeus.aiorobotics.com/


Wow, that sounds like one heck of a machine, if a little pricey.
The scanned/printed key demo video is seriously impressive !

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## dklassen

I offer scanning as a service along with 3D printing. Most of my clients want scans for reverse engineering. For me personally I do a pretty wide range of things just for fun.

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## curious aardvark

yeah it's on my list of toys. 
Give it  a year or two and most tablets and phones should have 'point and click' 3d scanning capability.

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## Andrea

> Hi,
> 
> My Einscan1 can scan at 0.1mm. I scanned a plane and measured the deviations with Meshlab. You can also look at the attached picture. I scanned my motorbike helmet. At the back of it, they have embossed NOLAN. The thickness of the emboss is 0.1 mm with round edges, same colour as the surrounding. The scanner picked it up. No blobs.
> 
> These days i'm scanning mostly parts on my motorbike, which i then bring into my CAD, then design other parts around the scanned part, to mate with it.
> 
> NOLAN helmet.jpg


Hello,

I'm new in the 3d printer world.... I know nothing regarding 3d scanner but your post is very interesting.

I would like to use a 3d scanner for job. I work in a mechanical company and I need to scan some parts in order to save time, compared to draw them.

did you scanned some parts of your motorcycle? what kind of file do you get by scanning? it's a .step file? I will to manage them with solidworks 2015

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## awerby

You can save time by reverse-engineering a mechanical part using 3D scans instead of measuring points and features by hand, but you'd still need to make a CAD drawing based on the scan data. Even a very expensive scanner won't produce a part that will function mechanically without some reworking. 

Usually you get a point-cloud (XYZ) or a mesh that connects the dots (STL) from a scanner. I can provide the scanner as well as the software you need to retrieve the design intent and come up with a STEP file to make a workable part; Geomagic DesignX is what I'd recommend, along with the Capture scanner. 

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

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## Hugues

> Hello,
> 
> I'm new in the 3d printer world.... I know nothing regarding 3d scanner but your post is very interesting.
> 
> I would like to use a 3d scanner for job. I work in a mechanical company and I need to scan some parts in order to save time, compared to draw them.
> 
> did you scanned some parts of your motorcycle? what kind of file do you get by scanning? it's a .step file? I will to manage them with solidworks 2015


Hi Andrea,

You cannot get directly a traditional volumetric CAD file with this scanner (and most scanners i guess). 

You can get a mesh file, extension is .stl, or also .obj. 

I did scan many parts of my motorbike. What I do is build other parts in CAD (I use AUtodesk Fusion 360) around the scan. ADF 360 has a function where you can "pull" your CAD design to stick to the scanned mesh for example, can be very useful.

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