Make Sense of 3D Objects

3D Printing & Imaging
Make Sense of 3D Objects
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Today 3D Systems announced their latest product, the Sense 3D Scanner. Keith Ozar from 3D Systems described the new hand-held 3D scanner as “physical photography.”

The Sense can easily scan objects as large as 10’x 10’x 10′ or high resolution scans as close as 20″ away. Best of all the entire system costs $399 and will be in hundreds of Staples stores starting on November 18, 2013.

Check out how the Sense scanned Matt Richardson:

piscan_mattr_3dsense

4 thoughts on “Make Sense of 3D Objects

  1. bonooobong says:

    Although it sounds pretty good (compared to the overpriced Digitizer of Makerbot) it doesn’t look like a high-res scanner. I can do scans like shown above with a kinect as well. A real hq scanner costs much more just like the Creaform Go! or the professional optical-laser scanners of Nikon. Fuel3D might be the one which can revolutionize the scanner world, I hope they won’t stop after the successful kickstarter campaign… btw the best affordable solution for hq scans is to borrow all the dslr machines from the friends and set up a home studio or using a diy laser scanner…

    1. paullubbock says:

      Everyone always compares it to the Kinect, usually because they already have one, but how many people can rip out their Kinect, plug it into a PC and have the software to easily use it pretty much anywhere you go? Unless you expect the world to come to your living room or your studio full of your borrowed friends stuff, I don’t see how this compares. So the resolution is not that great. For $399, it’s not likely to be but as a quick, easy to use scanner that you can create reference models from to scale anywhere you go, nothing compares to this, including the Kinect even if it uses the same tech.

  2. modern mimarlık says:

    a very successful

  3. Rex Brodie says:

    Received my Sense Scanner several days ago … after numerous tries, I have NOT completed a scan that is water tight and printable on my 3D printer. Heck, after approximately eight hours of scanning various size objects (including some people), I have made it all the way around an object only three times without the scanner losing tracking. And this is after going out and purchasing a 12′ USB extension cable to overcome the limitations of the short cable that comes with the scanner. Realign the scanner with scan and continue scanning … yeah Right.

    Really, without a windows tablet that would allow you to look at the object and screen simultaneously , it’s almost impossible to complete a scan. And, when it comes to scanning larger objects without a tablet … good luck! There is no button on the hand held device so a scan needs to be started with the software. Moving from the computer to the object and correctly positioning the scanner during the 3 second delay can be a challenge. Unlike the MakerBot digitizer, the laser on Sense scanner is not visible on the object . Again, this means you are completely dependent on information from the screen while scanning.

    I should have noticed that all of the examples in the videos are of people being scanned … mostly organic shapes with minimal undercuts. Even mushy rounded over models of people look good being printed on a 3D printer. After having used the scanner, I now believe the ability to scan portraits of people is the primary market this product is aimed … after all Cubify is marketing it as “physical photography.” Admittedly, this is one of the reasons I purchased the scanner.

    If the 3D models being produced (if you can complete a scan) were high quality, then purchasing a windows tablet to make the scanning process easier would make sense. I had started researching the Microsoft Surface Pro. The creative potential of having ability to take a scanner out into the world and scan larger is really exciting. And a Sense Scanner + an inexpensive windows tablet is still cheaper than a Makerbot digitizer with a heck of a lot more creative possibilities. Unfortunately, given how difficult the scanner is to use and the mediocre results, I’m not sure the additional cost of purchasing a tablet makes sense.

    Lesson learned … don’t rush out and be the first one on the block to purchase something biased on initial reviews. And if you do CHECK THE RETURN POLICY before making your purchase … Cubify’s return policy … ” We don’t provide refunds on Sense 3D scanner once they’re shipped.”

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I love to tinker and write about electronics. My days are spent building projects and working as a Technical Editor for MAKE.

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