3-D Scanners

[phardy79]

Does anyone have or use a 3-D scanner? What have the results been. How easy are they to use?

[elcruisr]

I'm using a Picza, slow but very accurate and the price was right.

[Brady Watson]

Your ShopBot turns into a big 3D scanner when you use the ShopBot probe

-B

[myxpykalix]

I have 2 scanners. One is a Inspeck 3D camera the other is a Konica Minolta Laser scanner. Both only take a second or two to scan an object and based on the results so far i'm working on some things turn out good, some things need cleaning up and work on. Were not quite to the Star Trek "replicator" stage yet!

[phardy79]

Has anyone ever used or come in contact with a NextEngine 3D Scanner?

https://www.nextengine.com/indexSecure.htm

[billp]

Paul,
A few Shopbotters ( including myself) have a Next Engine. I won't try to speak for everyone on this but I have had mixed results using it. Admittedly I have not put a lot of time into playing with it, but to date I found that I had much better results when scanning objects made of wood compared to other materials.
Their software keeps improving, and at some point in time I hope to get back and play with it a bit more as it CAN generate a decent scan under the "right" conditions.
There have been numerous threads on the Forum in the past regarding ALL of the laser scanners on the market, and I have tried many of them first hand. Scanning the object is just the start of the process. Unless you have good 3D software, a LOT of RAM, and some experience in "stitching" files, you will still be spending considerable time obtaining usable data.
Fair warning, don't believe the promos on the web! Unless you are there with an object you have provided for scanning, most posted results are suspect as they will obviously show you their "best shot". And if they will not scan a test piece which you provide them, cross them right off the list....

[dgus]

Hi Bill,
You make some good points and suggestions for evaluation 3D scanners. We welcome test scans and are starting to place scan data files for download in our gallery located at www.nextengine.com. We are also starting 3D scanning training via webinars. Ease of use is a key feature and if anyone would like an invitation to our 3D Scanning Training Sessions please email us at info@nextengine.com. The published NextEngine performance specs are conservative and we try to approach every inquiry as an opportunity to educate, not sell (underpromise/overdeliver). I am happy to respond to any questions in this forum. If you would like one of our Application Engineers to make contact and update you on what is new I would be happy to arrange a call.

[phardy79]

When I talked with NextEngine, they were very helpful and offered sample scans, online demos etc. They also offer very good educational discounts on product and software.

[old_andy]

i would be interested in communicating with Shopbotters that have used the Next Engine scanner with their Shopbot tool. I am interested in knowing things like:
1. what Shopbot software you used.
2. how difficult was it to interface to the Next Engine software.
3. what pitfalls did you encounter.
Any and all information will be greatly appreciated.