The application field of 3D scanning technology is constantly expanding, and it is gradually popularized in the fields of industry, cultural museums, e-commerce, medical and other fields. According to a research report by Spherical Insights & Consulting, the global 3D scanning market size was 39$100 million, and the global 3D scanning market is expected to reach 118$500 million, at a CAGR of 1311%, the future of 3D scanning is very promising.
Today, there are many different types of 3D scanners available in different price points. So, how do you fully evaluate the performance of a 3D scanner so that it can better empower your business?
1What are the main applications of 3D scanners?
The 3D scanner can quickly obtain accurate 3D data of objects, which provides a hardware foundation for digital design, digital production, and digital manufacturing, and also provides an efficient way for objects to be quickly converted into digital models.
There are many forms of 3D scanners, the representative forms are box and handheld, among which the handheld 3D scanner can be used by staff in different places, even if it is to deal with different sizes, shapes, materials, can be non-destructive measurement, and the digital 3D model obtained after scanning is saved in OBJ, FBX, GLB, GLTF and other formats, serving CAD, quality inspection, 3D printing and other purposes.
2What parameters do you need to pay attention to in 3D scanners?
Scanning Type: Contact and Non-Contact
Contact
Contactless
According to the general classification, 3D scanners can be divided into contact 3D scanners and non-contact 3D scanners.
Among them, the contact 3D scanner scans the surface through a mechanical probe, and its limitations are obvious, and the contact scanning process is easy to change or even destroy the details of the object, and it cannot scan soft objects, so the application of contact 3D scanners in many fields will be limited.
Non-contact 3D scanners can capture very detailed models by using optical, laser, or structured light to capture 3D morphological information on the surface of an object, and because they do not cause damage to the object, they are suitable for a wider range of applications than contact ones.
Scanning light source: laser, structured light, infrared
Lasers
Laser 3D scanning works by shining a laser light on the object being scanned, and then capturing the position of the laser point with a camera or sensor, the scanner can calculate this distance based on the relative position and angle of the laser emitter and the camera, and once enough scan data has been captured, the entire surface geometry of the scanned object can be determined. However, it is not possible to collect color information directly.
Structured light (white or blue).
Structured light 3D scanning works by projecting a set of light with parallel lines or other shapes onto the surface of the object being scanned, and then capturing the projected light pattern through the camera, according to the distorted lines on the surface of the object, through a series of calculations, the scanner can use the distorted light to calculate the position, size, and shape of the scanned object. This method is highly accurate and fast.
Near-infrared light (NIR).
Another important light source for 3D scanners is infrared light, which is not visible to the naked eye, and when infrared light hits the object being scanned, different types of cameras are used to capture infrared light. Infrared light scanning has some important advantages in some fields, and one of the most common applications is face scanning, which is currently common in medical, human modeling, fashion, and more.
Scanning accuracy and resolution
Accuracy is a measure of the absolute accuracy of a scanning device, referring to the difference between the scanned model and the real object, while resolution is a measure of the shortest distance between two points in a 3D model, both in millimeters or microns.
Generally speaking, when facing industrial design, reverse engineering, 3D inspection of workpieces, scanning of fine objects, detection of missing workpieces, etc., the accuracy requirements are extremely high (accuracy 0.01mm) scanning modeling, 3D data acquisition and analysis, industrial 3D scanners are required, such as automobiles, aerospace, industrial precision parts manufacturing and other fields.
Professional-grade 3D scanners have a high accuracy (accuracy 0.1mm) is slightly lower than the industrial grade, but it can already meet the needs of 3D scanning modeling and data collection in the fields of cultural museums, medical care, e-commerce, and home furnishing.
Scanning Format: Relates to the size of the object to be scanned
The format of a 3D scanner refers to the maximum size range of the object it scans, generally speaking, different 3D scanners have different suitable objects to scan, so we need to pay attention to the format parameter, the larger the format, the larger the size of the object that the scanner can scan theoretically.
3 How to choose a 3D scanner according to the usage scenario?
01 Cultural relics conservation and archaeology
As a precious resource that cannot be renewed, cultural relics are inevitably affected and destroyed by natural and man-made factors in the long river of time. Using 3D scanning technology, we can accurately, comprehensively and diversely obtain and record the information of cultural relics, with its non-contact, high-precision and high-efficiency characteristics, which is of great significance for the research and application of cultural relics, and even for future traceability and restoration.
▍whale
Whale is a professional-grade all-round 3D scanner launched by Building Block, with two scanning modules: wide + standard. The wide module has a large field of view, which can quickly scan large objects; The accuracy of the standard module is up to 005mm to capture small details. In addition, Whale uses an advanced NIR optical projection device, which can easily work in bright light outdoors.
▍mp80 pro
Using non-contact phase-shifted structured light 3D scanning and automatic texture mapping technology, and comes with turntable and light box, through automatic splicing, texture matching, light and color uniformity and other core self-developed algorithms, one-click rapid acquisition of object surface 3D data and texture maps, 5 minutes to complete the scanning and generate high-fidelity color 3D data of cultural relics.
02 E-commerce, 3D printing
For the field of e-commerce and 3D printing, it is necessary to capture the appearance and internal structure of products from multiple angles to provide conditions for the digital development of products. For example, it is displayed in an interactive and interesting way on the e-commerce page, so that consumers can have a more comprehensive understanding of the product.
▍seal
SEAL is a high-precision, portable, small-format consumer-grade handheld 3D scanner launched by building blocks, using blue light coding structured light technology, with a short wavelength (400-500nm), it can project accurate structured light, capture the tiniest indentation, texture and contour of the object, 10-300mm small objects 1 1 restoration; A 24-bit color texture camera that adds vivid color, contrast, and intricate texture details to your models.
▍magic swift plus
A consumer-grade handheld 3D scanner launched by Jimu Easy Ride, with measurement-grade accuracy and powerful fully automatic model processing methods, the scanning process does not need to be warmed up, attached, calibrated, fixed installation and other procedures, plug and play, 5 minutes to complete the scan, and one-click access to 3D visual scanning results.
03 Industrial Testing, Reverse Engineering
3D scanners are often used in industry for additive manufacturing, precision measurement, reverse engineering, quality control, and maintenance. With the help of 3D scanning technology, manufacturers can improve the production process more efficiently and accurately, and improve the yield rate.
▍magicscan sc-j6m
MagicScan SC-J6M adopts advanced non-contact blue light raster scanning technology to avoid damage to the surface of the object, strong anti-interference, stable repeatability accuracy, high detail restoration, with a variety of splicing technologies, can arbitrarily adjust the scanning range, widely used in reverse engineering design, rapid prototyping manufacturing, part quality inspection, surface reading and other fields.
04 Metaverse scenarios, fashion and medical applications
In addition, 3D scanning technology can also be applied to the diagnosis and surgical evaluation in the fields of orthopedic prosthetics, medical device customization and dentistry, and has become the core equipment of personalized medical solutions.
▍mole
Mole is a portable, high-precision, standard-format consumer-grade handheld 3D scanner that won the 2023 Red Dot Design Award. Mole accuracy up to 005mm；The resolution is up to 01mm, for the high fidelity restoration of model details. At the same time, Mole uses a near-infrared light source, which is invisible to the human eye, which fully meets the work scenarios involving human body scanning.