# 3D Design / 3D Scanning / 3D Modeling > 3D Modeling, Design, Scanners >  good scanning on a printer

## abowden

According to the coder this was done on a 0.1 mm grid, and could be taken to a 0.05mm grid with half steps. It seems to work reasonably well as a scanner, but what do you guys think?

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## curious aardvark

Hmm, i can see it would be useful for copying keys, though how useful a plastic key would be I'm not sure.

It's sort of like the original scanner i had 25 years ago (possibly longer) for my amstrad pcw. You attached a little scanner to the dot matrix head of the printer and it scanned pictures line by line. 
This is a slightly updated version of that.

If it could be configured to produce a solid rather than a hollowed out shape, could be quite useful - I assume it's cheap :-) 
Anything more than $100 and you can forget it :-)

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## Mjolinor

It is how Roland do it.

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## curious aardvark

and who is roland ?

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## Mjolinor

> and who is roland ?


http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_fr...d+cnc&_sacat=0

They have addons for scanning objects.

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## Tiger

> Hmm, i can see it would be useful for copying keys, though how useful a plastic key would be I'm not sure.


haha. It would be useful for robbers, if they can get acees to one's keys. scan them and put back, so no one notice. Print a plastic key, won't last long but should ne enough to open the door, steal what you need, and cllose it back, maybe with second printed key.

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## abowden

The key was just an example of what can be done with it, I am reasonably sure that it as more uses than just that, and the reason it's not automatically put together into a solid model is because the guy who did it has skills more to do with the practical side of machining than well, programing. The idea of it is that you should be able to scan basically anything and to relatively high precision (as high as you are capable of printing, pretty much by definition almost) although obviously with limitations regarding undercuts and such, and something are obviously going to need multiple scans and re-combination in some modelling software, because once again, this guy is a mostly a machinist. But hey, it's free, any printer can be configured to do it.

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## abowden

> Hmm, i can see it would be useful for  copying keys, though how useful a plastic key would be I'm not sure.
> 
> It's sort of like the original scanner i had 25 years ago (possibly  longer) for my amstrad pcw. You attached a little scanner to the dot  matrix head of the printer and it scanned pictures line by line. 
> This is a slightly updated version of that.
> 
> If it could be configured to produce a solid rather than a hollowed out shape, could be quite useful - I assume it's cheap :-) 
> Anything more than $100 and you can forget it :-)



It's free, any printer can do it, though results will vary based on how well the printer is made/calibrated.

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## curious aardvark

ah so it's an instructable ? 
Missed that thought it was another kickstarter project. I really have to start reading all the words :-) 

Well in that case I can think of a number of uses. was a guy recently(ish) who wanted to make custom case inserts for guns - this would be ideal for him. 
Guess i could remove the right motor and mount it there. 

It is  a good idea, just reminds me of my first scanner way way back when.

One thing does concern me. Instead of the proble moving up and down, it looks almost as if it forces the bed up and down - that can't be good for the bed. 
Or does it somehow link to the printer and move the bed down untill the probe is clear ? 

Is there a web page or something useful we could look at ?

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## abowden

> ah so it's an instructable ? 
> Missed that thought it was another kickstarter project. I really have to start reading all the words :-) 
> 
> Well in that case I can think of a number of uses. was a guy recently(ish) who wanted to make custom case inserts for guns - this would be ideal for him. 
> Guess i could remove the right motor and mount it there. 
> 
> It is  a good idea, just reminds me of my first scanner way way back when.
> 
> One thing does concern me. Instead of the proble moving up and down, it looks almost as if it forces the bed up and down - that can't be good for the bed. 
> ...


that's because the bed is the z axis, like the ultimaker.

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## curious aardvark

yes but where is the link ?

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## awerby

That seems to be a Renishaw-type touchprobe, which is basically a needle floated on a set of springs that makes an electrical contact when deflected. This was the first sort of 3D scanning device, originally used on CNC machines for locating a workpiece. Roland Corp of Japan devised an improvement on that technique with a piezo-electric probe that's more sensitive and faster-acting. I've made lots of scans with those devices; they're useful for other things besides keys, but are restricted to flattish sorts of objects. It's a very slow process, though, especially if you want good detail on large parts. 

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

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## abowden

> yes but where is the link ?


Not sure what you mean

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## abowden

> That seems to be a Renishaw-type touchprobe, which is basically a needle floated on a set of springs that makes an electrical contact when deflected. This was the first sort of 3D scanning device, originally used on CNC machines for locating a workpiece. Roland Corp of Japan devised an improvement on that technique with a piezo-electric probe that's more sensitive and faster-acting. I've made lots of scans with those devices; they're useful for other things besides keys, but are restricted to flattish sorts of objects. It's a very slow process, though, especially if you want good detail on large parts. 
> 
> Andrew Werby
> www.computersculpture.com


Yeah as far as I am aware it's pretty standard stuff for CNC, it just isn't for 3d printing... because bed leveling. Still though, it is a useful thing to have, allows you take scans that are precisely as accurate as your printer is capable of printing.

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## curious aardvark

> Not sure what you mean


well you posted a video showing a thing doing a scan. 
No website information, no clue as to who is doing it or where on the web information can be found. 
You also said it was free - suggesting someone has posted both the software and how to build the probe somewhere. 
So where is it ?????????????

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## abowden

> well you posted a video showing a thing doing a scan. 
> No website information, no clue as to who is doing it or where on the web information can be found. 
> You also said it was free - suggesting someone has posted both the software and how to build the probe somewhere. 
> So where is it ?????????????


So far as I know the guy isn't selling it yet, but it would be pretty easy to make, it is essentially just a pressure switch.

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## awerby

Or you can just buy one: http://www.nextwaveautomation.com/CN...uch_Probe.aspx

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## curious aardvark

so what about the software ?

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## TerrenncceJacklis

How its happen Ronald.

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