What are the best 3D scanners that can be used both for educational and professional purposes?

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Apr 6, 2019

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2 Options Considered

Best 3D scanners that can be used both for educational and professional purposes	Price	Resolution at maximum scanning distance	File formats
-- Fuel3D SCANIFY	$1,490	Not stated	STL, OBJ, PLY
-- DAVID SLS-3	$3,995	0.25 mm	OBJ, STL, PLY

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score 3 · Answer 1

Fuel3D SCANIFY

Top Pro

Scanning an object can be an interesting learning experience

This scanner operates by combining stereoscopy (used to assess depth of an image) and photometry (used to measure brightness of light), which means several scans have to be arranged by users to get an acceptable final result. Becoming proficient in this workflow will surely teach users much about light-based 3D scanning. See More

Top Con

You need to be close to the target object

The recommended distance between the scanner and the object is between 0.35 and 0.45 m, which is quite limited and as the secondary effect of limiting the maximum object dimensions. Scans made outside the specified range yields unusable data. See More

Specs

Resolution at maximum scanning distance:Not stated

File formats:STL, OBJ, PLY

Resolution at minimum scanning distance:0.35 mm

Scanning technology:Fusion of Stereoscopic and Photometric data

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Top Pro

Great scanning resolution

As a handheld 3D scanner, the 0.35mm scanning resolution gives out great results. It even beats more expensive scanners like the Artec Eva. See More

Top Con

You may end up having to pay for software

Even though there’s a free version of Fuel3D Studio, it’s very limited in features when compared to the Advanced version, which costs $190.00/month. For example, the free version only allows you to stitch up to six scans, while the Advanced version allows you to combine an unlimited amount of scans, resulting in higher resolutions and better overall scan quality. See More

Top Pro

Scanning process is quick

It only takes a fraction of a second to capture a single scan. This is great for scanning in a dynamic environment. It also makes face scans hassle-free, since other SLS 3D scanners struggle to capture them, due to micro movements. See More

Top Con

The software is quite complicated to use

This scanner operates by combining stereoscopy (used to assess depth of an image) and photometry (used to measure brightness of light), which has the disadvantage of needing multiple scans of the same object to be arranged by the user. While not impossible to learn, you will need to take some time to read through technical documentation and watch the tutorial videos provided by Fuel3D. See More

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score 2 · Answer 2

DAVID SLS-3

Top Pro

Good for teaching purposes

Calibrating this scanner is quite time-consuming and tricky, which can be annoying for regular use, but can be useful for teaching purposes, since the setup process itself helps understanding how structured light 3D scanning works. See More

Top Con

Harsh calibration procedure

Calibrating the scanner is very unforgiving. You’ll need to find the ideal positions of the cameras, the projector and the object itself just for one scan. You’ll have to adjust the focus, distance and the angle of both the camera and projector manually. After doing all that, you’ll then have to double check everything using the DAVID software. All in all, it’s a very time-consuming effort that needs to be repeated for every new target object. See More

Specs

Resolution at minimum scanning distance:0.05 mm

File formats:OBJ, STL, PLY

Resolution at maximum scanning distance:0.25 mm

Scanning technology:Structured Light Scanning

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Top Pro

Maximum resolution of 0.05 mm

This 3D scanner can push its resolution to up to 0.05 mm, at 10 cm distance from the object (keep in mind that in order to be able to achieve this result you’ll have to spend hours calibrating the device). The overall result is very impressive, since a 0.05 mm resolution allows to scan objects in great detail. For example, you can theoretically scan a human hair using this scanner. This is a very powerful tool if used properly. See More

Top Con

Unintuitive setup

The setup procedure is unintuitive, and requires thoroughly reading the manual. First, you’ll need to connect the DAVID camera and projector to your computer, then you’ll have to install all software and drivers provided in a USB stick, then configure the projector as an extended screen. See More

Top Pro

Scanning process is easy

Unlike setup and calibration, the scanning process itself is quite easy. Scanning an object from multiple positions is enough to merge the data and form a 360 degree mesh. See More

Top Con

Limited workspace

The SLS-3 system is limited by the maximum size of objects it can scan, a problem which exists for pretty much all stationary 3D scanners. This scanner's maximum allowed dimensions are 500 mm in any direction, and it's impossible to use it to scan larger objects, unlike handheld scanners, that can be used to scan objects that are quite big. See More

Top Pro

Included software is powerful and intuitive to use

To operate this scanner, you’ll need the HP 3D Scan Software Pro V5 installed on your computer. The software license is bundled with the scanner itself, so you won’t need to buy it separately. The software is simple to use and intuitive, but also quite powerful. It’s divided into three main parts: setup, scanning and shape function. This means that, during the scanning stage, for example, you’ll only be presented with the functions relevant for that stage. See More

Top Con

Resolution drops with distance

As expected with this kind of scanner, resolution drops if you increase the distance to the target object. At a distance of 500 mm from the object, the resolution is only 0.25mm (5 times worst than the resolution at 100 mm). See More

Top Pro

Enhanced texture

This scanner's high precision 1080p camera enhances the textures of scanned objects. See More

Top Pro

Plenty of great accessories available

Besides cables and hard cases, this scanner has plenty of accessories to choose from. There’s the TT-1 Automatic Turntable ( $1160.00 ), which makes 360 degree scans easier, or the DSL-1 Desk Scan Lever ( $650.00 ), which gives the scanner some extra free space for more complicated 3D scans. Another notable accessory is the SLS-3 Stereo Camera Upgrade Kit ( $1795.00 ), which improves scan quality by adding a second camera, at the cost of complicating even more the default setup, since both cameras need to be individually calibrated. See More

Top Pro

Exports into STL, OBJ and PLY formats

This 3D scanner is designed to export purely geometric 3D formats, and is therefore capable of generating STL, OBJ and PLY files, which are more than enough for reverse engineering and geometry editing with most CAD software. See More

Top Pro

Capable of capturing color

As the unit only has a monochrome camera, color capturing is achieved by measuring reflectivity on the surface of the scanned object. See More

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What are the best 3D scanners that can be used both for educational and professional purposes?

2 Options Considered

Fuel3D SCANIFY

My Recommendation for Fuel3D SCANIFY

My Recommendation for Fuel3D SCANIFY

Scanning an object can be an interesting learning experience

You need to be close to the target object

Great scanning resolution

You may end up having to pay for software

Scanning process is quick

The software is quite complicated to use

DAVID SLS-3

My Recommendation for DAVID SLS-3

My Recommendation for DAVID SLS-3

Good for teaching purposes

Harsh calibration procedure

Maximum resolution of 0.05 mm

Unintuitive setup

Scanning process is easy

Limited workspace

Included software is powerful and intuitive to use

Resolution drops with distance

Enhanced texture

Plenty of great accessories available

Exports into STL, OBJ and PLY formats

Capable of capturing color

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