3d Scanner – WeWantToLearn.net

3D Scan using photographs

Follow the link to the Autodesk 123D Viewer to view the native scan

Last year we saw Jack Munro making use of the DAVID 3D Laser Scanner software to scan his sand cast. Although home-made, this scanner requires a laser and about £300 of software.

Autodesk 123D Catch is a free piece of software that allows the user to create a 3D scan [imports into Rhino as a mesh] using only a set of normal photos. It is also available as an app for the iPhone meaning that you can take the photos and upload them at the same time. All of the image processing is done on Autodesk’s servers.

The video above uses the LinceoRV augmented reality software to show a comparison between the real object and its digital mesh counterpart.

The resolution depends on the number of photos, position of photos, background, lighting conditions, etc, but the scan depicted appears to have a resolution of about ±2mm on a 120mm wide object.

HOME MADE 3D SCANNER

This home made 3D scanner uses a webcam, a laser line, a calibration backdrop and DAVID laserscanner software to create accurate and detailed 3D scans. The system must be calibrated first with no model present. Once this has been done the model can be placed in front of the backdrop and the laser line passed over its surface. The camera is able to read the distortions of the laser line as it passes over the surface and DAVID converts this information into a 3D mesh. Multiple scans can be made from different angles, which are then automatically aligned and fused by DAVID. Meshes can be exported in multiple formats, in this case as .obj for further editing in Rhino and rendering with VRay.

Natural Occurences

Geoffrey Mann of Studio Mrmann is a Royal College of Art graduate and Scottish artist & designer with a fascination for materialising ephemeral and temporary phenomena. Using a variety of digital technologies he has captured light, sound and movement and displayed them in otherwise unperceivable apparitions.