3D Scanners - Which is the best?

[Eddie]

If I were to recommend a Scanner, I would have to go with the most popular, simply because there is the most information out there on forums, blogs, etc about it. I'd suggest the Digitizer by makerbot.

[AndrewK]

Honestly I think this is a very difficult question to answer, because most of us only have experience with 1 or fewer 3D scanners. Hard to compare when you haven't tried all of them. Like Eddie said, the Digitizer is probably the most popular one, because MakerBot does a lot of advertising for it, and the mere fact that they are a big company. However, I can't really say if it's the best.

[Larry]

I've been hearing a lot of great things about the handheld 3D scanner made by 3D Systems, called the Cubify Sense. For $399 it seems like a good deal, however you are the one who has to do all the scanning work. It's not just a table top scanner like some: http://cubify.com/sense/

[ImaginationProgress]

I haven't personally used a Cubify Sense, but for some reason I don't think it would do that great of a job on smaller details. Has anyone here had the chance to use one yet?

[JohnA136]

3D Systems considers a "small" item a basketball! You can set it on small, medium and large items. if you plan on scanning anything smaller than a basketball, it is not the scanner for you! Here is a print of a profile scan using the Sense.

dad2.jpgdad1.jpg

[Razorette3D]

Unfortunately there aren't many scanners to choose from. At least not good ones. I don't even know if I'd consider the Digitizer to be that great. It's probably the best on the market but still has its flaws.

[awerby]

There are actually quite a few different scanners out there, but few of them are as inexpensive as the Sense. I've been experimenting with it, and having pretty good luck with larger objects, like full-body scans of people. It works less well with smaller objects, although I'm working on a modification that might help with that. If you want a scanner that captures high levels of detail, though, this isn't the scanner for you. I'm not sure the Makerbot digitizer would be either; it looks like its resolution is pretty poor (+/- 2mm), and it can only deal with small objects that fit on its turntable.

I've also been using the Capture scanner from 3D systems, and I've decided to start reselling it. It does a really excellent job of recording small details - I just scanned a grapefruit, for instance, and it faithfully captured the small pores in the skin. It's also quite fast, although it isn't the kind of scanner that continuously records data as you move around. It wants to be set up on a tripod, spend a minute or so recording surface data with patterns of blue light, then capture more data from a different viewpoint etc, until it's got views of the whole object. Then the software it comes with lets you align and merge all the scans into one. These scanners list for between $15k and $25k, depending on the software one gets to use with it (there's a choice of 6 different programs for reverse-engineering, part inspection, etc.) but I'll be discounting it a little.

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

[Kingoddball]

Has anyone tried the materform?
I have looked at getting one but looking for user reviews (unless its not out yet)

[chekming1225]

Have anyone had Artec Eva scanned sample (file / picture) ? As Mr. JohnA136 has posted the sample picture from SENSE, I really want to see the comparison between these 2 scanners. Thanks.

[JSenior]

Have anyone had Artec Eva scanned sample (file / picture) ? As Mr. JohnA136 has posted the sample picture from SENSE, I really want to see the comparison between these 2 scanners. Thanks.

Have a look at this video somebody did:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3WzY8EWM9s