3D Scan, Scale and Print - How I have fun on the weekend

Some people laugh and call me a nerd, but it’s the truth.

While you were out golfing, dirt biking, or dancing this weekend, I was at home working with our 3D scanner and printer.

This is how I have fun.

My goal was to test / hone my skills by:

1. Scanning an object in high resolution

2. Scaling the mesh

3. and 3D printing a mini version

I searched around our house, and found a statue that was given to my wife and I a few years ago as a gift. It was perfect.

It had continually changing complex geometries and textures. Impossible to measure by hand, but perfect for scanning.

I put the statue on my lazy-Susan and got to work.

I fired up the scanner, and after a few minutes, the scan was complete, edited, and ready to go.

My mind was blown by the resolution of the scan, as you can see in the image below. It captured the exact geometry and texture in a perfect watertight mesh.

3D Scan of Statue

Clicking a few buttons, I scaled the mesh down to 1/3 of the original size, and imported it into my 3D printing software.

I then sliced the model into thin layers using our 3D printing software, inspected the print path and support placement, and then sent the file to the printer.

Layer view of statue after slicing. Each layer can be viewed and inspected.

I then went off to do more normal Saturday activities (like reading #nerd).

A little over an hour later my print was complete. I removed it from the printer and took it downstairs to compare it with the original.

Original statue and new mini print

The mini statue captured all of the detail of the original, and looked fantastic.

In the image below you can see the individual print layers when you look close. Those layers could be removed if I printed in higher quality (with a smaller layer height).

3D Print of statue

3D print of statue

Overall the statue scan and print turned out amazing. There was some slight distortion around the female dancer’s knee where the mesh was auto filled by the software. This could have been prevented with an additional scan to fill in that region.

Distorted knee on 3D print

How could you use this technology?

If you are a geek like me, you probably think that this is awesome being able to scan and print essentially any small object in your home or business. But why would you want to do this?

Here are a couple of uses for our scanning technology. You can:

1. Capture and store object geometry, texture and color

2. Take 3D measurements off of the object

3. Open the 3D model in Microsoft 3D builder or 3D paint

What purpose does this serve?

Once you have the 3D data, you can:

1. Digital archive the data. That means you can store this data forever. This has uses for preserving historical or important artifacts, parts, and objects

2. Import the mesh data when creating video games or animations. This saves tons of time and money when it comes to graphic design

3. Measure the model to create parts which interact or fit to the existing part. For example, if you wanted to create a case for your cell phone.

4. For reverse engineering complex parts

5. For art projects and education

Why would I want to print a model of an existing part?

There are a few reasons why you would want to print a replica of something that already exists:

1. If you want to create your own product line of something similar, this gives you a starting point. You can use the print for creating a mold.

2. If you have a critical or expensive application and want to check the quality of the scan against the physical part for verification purposes. We use this all the time to check to make sure that reverse engineered parts fit into existing assemblies.

3. If you want a light weight plastic version or a part for portability. We recently had a customer who had us print an entire tool assembly so he could carry it in his backpack to international trade shows. The original part weighted over 10 lbs, and the printed parts were about 0.5 lbs total.

4. For creating gifts. You could scan a cool object, print, and paint that object for unique gifts.

Are you interested in a demo?

If your interested in seeing these technologies demonstrated, get in touch with us and we would be happy to show you what they are all about!

From Idea to Product - My Engineering Ltd.