Makerbot Digitizer: Desktop 3D scanner goes on sale | Hacker News Reader

Makerbot Digitizer: Desktop 3D scanner goes on sale

bbc.co.uk

40 pointsmartin_13 comments

Here is an alternative way to scan. http://www.david-3d.com/ Software is free to download, and I bought a Ryobi laser at Home Depot that worked fine ($20).

For what it is, I think it is a huge progress that one day will be a big deal. But too expensive for the average at home hobbyist at the moment.

For those wishing the article linked to the product... here you go.

Product: http://store.makerbot.com/digitizer.html

FAQ: https://s3.amazonaws.com/downloads-makerbot-com/digitizer/MB... [PDF]

This is pretty cool, I'm glad that we're starting to see these prices come down. I've been wondering if something could be put together with either a kinect or a small pico projector + webcam to do the full structured light sort of scan without the huge expense. The laser line scanner deals are pretty cool but if you can vary the light used under computer control you can work around problems with relative positioning of line/object/camera by changing the pattern you are projecting.

I love the idea of being able to scan, modify and print. Am I nuts or does this seem like a steep price to be able to do it?

This does seem pretty steep, at least at first blush.

A camera, two lasers, and a turntable. Add software - mostly front end work.

That said, you are definitely paying for the MakerBot name - compare the price/capabilities of their MakerBot Replicator to other options.

Especially since anything you could scan with this could be manufactured with CNC; it can't capture anything that requires a 3d printer (internal voids, folds, etc.)

If you are so inclined, you can build a similar (if not superior) system for under $75.

A laser diode that makes a line, a 3.3V power supply, a stepper motor+driver, a CCD based webcam, and a copy of 'Davids Laser Scanner' [1] (or similar photometry application).

I've been using this setup for about 3 years now (occasionally using a Kinect for larger, less precise scans). The scans people have done of insects are quite amazing. [2,3]

[1] http://www.david-3d.com/

[2] http://www.david-3d.com/gfx/gallery/highlights/01-Real-size_...

[3] http://forum.david-3d.com/download/file.php?id=1951&mode=vie...

Now this is exciting stuff! Makes me hopeful that we might reach star trek level of mass replicators in every room within my lifetime

I wonder how well it actually performs though?

Can someone tell us what the relevant metrics are in this space? Capture time? Accuracy? How is accuracy measured?

Accuracy is measured in distance - a bound on the maximum distance from any scanned point to the true surface. Manufacturer accuracy ratings should be taken with many grains of salt.

Makerbot is claiming +/- 2mm. In comparison, high-end laser scanners claim accuracy in the tens of microns, 50-100x better than MakerBot.

12 minutes is a slow capture time for small parts like that.

$1400 is cheaper than any good 3D scanner on the market, by far. The only competition is a Kinect, which costs much less but doesn't have enough detail for small parts yet.

Hmm, I wonder if a LeapMotion device could do it. It's more accurate than a Kinect.

Totally different technology - motion sensing does not = high resolution object capturing

$1400 is cheaper than any good scanner on the market, true.

But this is not a good scanner.

This is a hobbyist-class scanner like the ~1100USD CADscan (http://cad-scan.co.uk/) and the 599USD Matterform Photon (http://www.matterform.net/). These and the Makerbot product share essentially the same technology.

The next level up from this would be something like NextEngine (>3000USD to get going): http://www.nextengine.com/.

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