I have an idea on how to do it and wonder if it's worth investigating.
I have an idea on how to do it and wonder if it's worth investigating.
Define reliably? What kind of scan area? What level of resolution? What guarantees of accuracy and precision?
The short answer is yes but the longer answer needs a lot more info.
What I envision would work to create a near perfect .stl replication every time for every material.
Z axis resolution better than .1mm. X-Y resolution depending on desired speed. Scan area defined by the printer its attached to.
Complex shapes will require more than 1 scan which will be stitched together.
I missed the part about it being a printer attachment. Honestly, unless it has the ability to scan large objects (more than 12" cubed) it's not something i'd be interested in at that price BUT if you can figure out a way to get perfectly clean stl's every time and port your software to work with other scanners THAT would be worth something.
Precision measurement is more a function of the hardware than the software. Not that it cannot be enhanced with sophisticated software...
Why do you want to scan larger than you can print? Make scale models? Precision is not as important there.
What I envision would be more for making enhanced parts.
I would jump on this, if you can use an existing printer as a scanner that can put out those numbers. Yep.
For reverse engineering this would be a dream, for scanning scultpures or organic bodies, this would probably not appeal because it just wont have the accuracy (scanners that capture fine texture are in the 0.01mm resolution range).
yes I'd be interested - for $1000 - not a chance.
For that money it'd need to be fuly portable. And as a lot of people would like to scan other (and their own) people's heads - that's most likely why it would need to scan bigger than the printer can scan. Also scan larger objects and rescale them for printing.
For a printer add on I might go to $400, but certainly no more for somethig that limited.
Precision is about hardware, clean .stl's is about software. In the realm of scanners it seems to me that the software is the biggest issue in terms of getting scans that are actually useful.
As for scanning larger than i can print, not every scan is meant to replicate a part. Sometimes it's for reverse engineering an existing part. For instance, I will never need to print a wheel or swingarm for my motorcycle. I do need an axle for the bike though. The axle is a custom part that will be printed (as a fit only prototype) but since it doesn't exist yet i can't scan it. I therefore need to scan the mating components so i can design the axle to print and test.
this one will deliver pretty much what you describe
ships in June
for less than 1000 usd
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...d-pri/comments
I do like the idea of using the printer for accurate movement of the scanner. But it'd have to be cheap as the buyer is supplying a lot of the nexessary hardware :-)
It does sound like an MMT/CMM what you're describing.
Do you mean the scanner being moved by the printer or some sort of probes on the moving head and then touch your print?
Yeah you are right for 1000$ not a single chance to think about it. I can do it by myself with just little bit of effort and hard work. And i believe that anyone with little bit effort would be able to do that without spending a single penny. Thanks
or you can buy this for less http://us.xyzprinting.com/product/dv10aio
On that note, the Atlas 3D Scanner kits have started shipping (I wasn't even close to the front of the line, mine doesn't ship until June.) and the software so far looks phenomenal.
It'll probably be a few weeks before the first reviews start rolling out that can speak to reliability. If it's reliable, then that makes it hard to sell any kind of $1000 scanner, when the Atlas kits cost around $200.
Is there a way to scale down the cost of $1000?
Perhaps I should have put my "if" in italics and bold, because I agree with you, it's a big if.
...Though hey, saving $800 is worth quite a bit of "if" to some people.
Then to help you out (really) the short answer is no!
Everything now a days is WYSIWYG. Until i see some of your reliable work/potential results i can't say yes.
Even the competitors try and show the best results in order to make sales. Even in crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter or Indiegogo.
I have a startup and i had to learn the procedure, everyone want to see results first and then how much might cost the service/product.
Hope i helped, really tried
GL
If I had a prototype which actually works, I might be willing to say more about it.
But since I'm not asking for you to put down money such as on Kickstarter, it is premature to give away my ideas on how to do it.
You don't really need to know how it would be done to say how much it would be worth IF it works.
Thanks for your input.
Well, this sounds like you have an idea and you want to know if it's patentable or not.
From the very vague details you've provided, it sounds like the Blacksmith Genesis beat you to the punch (well, beat you to the Indiegogo start, they obviously haven't delivered yet) by about a eight months.
Though if you can get under $1000 then you'd beat them on price. They claim to have patents however, so you might be out of luck.
Not really about patents; more about whether there's a market for a more expensive scanner that works better.
Except their scanner looks just like a Makerbot digitizer inside a printer.Quote:
From the very vague details you've provided, it sounds like the Blacksmith Genesis beat you to the punch (well, beat you to the Indiegogo start, they obviously haven't delivered yet) by about a eight months.
Looks like theirs is a different technology.Quote:
Though if you can get under $1000 then you'd beat them on price. They claim to have patents however, so you might be out of luck.