3D Scanning
There will be times when you have something that you want to reproduce. It may well be too complicated to model in 3D from scratch. Or it maybe that it’s something that is more ornamental where 3D scanning is more cost effective.
The image you can see here is a test piece that was scanned to show the capabilities of the 3D scanner we have.
It’s a relatively complicated shape with a texture. The goal was to get the shape as close as possible, recreate the texture, and print the model scaled down.
The way that this works for something like this is that the model is placed on a turntable controlled by the scanning software so that it turns at a uniform speed.
The turntable has a pattern on it which gives the scanner reference points and also allows the software to differentiate between the model and the turntable so that it can be ignored.
What we do is scan the model in one position, turn it over on its side and scan again. In a lot of cases, 2 passes will be enough but we can scan as many times as needed in order to ensure that the scanner has “seen” every part of the original model.
After we’ve done the scan from all necessary angles, we have a number of images which need stitching together. In some cases, the software is clever enough to work out which points are the same. For example, it will recognise the tip of the bird’s beak whether the image is scanned with the model upright or on its side.
By finding all these points, the software can then stitch all the images together to create a complete 3D image.
This image shows the final version in the slicing software ready to print.
There are cases where the software struggles with this and we have to put little sticky dots on the model in a contrasting colour. We can then tell the software which dots to match up when it stitches everything together.
Finally, we print and the end result is a pretty much perfect replica of the original at 75% scale.
Watch a marketing video of a consumer level 3D scanner and they’ll show you a smiling family scanning in a child’s toy or their own heads. It is definitely not as simple as they make it look. There are so many variables to consider. Even the surface of the original. If it’s shiny, it won’t scan. It will need to be covered in a temporary lacquer and covered in something like talcum powder to give the scanner a chance of scanning it.
If you want something scanned, send us a photo and we can see how realistic it will be to do cost effectively.
