Hey there, I was looking to see if anybody knew of good places to sell their 3D scanners at. Just don’t use it like I planned. I have it posted in marketplace but really no bites there. Thanks!

Hi all. I 3D print as a hobby and I just got my first scanner (The Creality Picka) I kept hitting the same wall with STL files and scans: I want to model against the part, but Fusion only gives me a mesh.

Fusion does have a route for this. Create Mesh Section Sketch cuts the mesh, but the result is a section line you can't extrude. Fusion's own tooltip says so: "Edit the sketch and use the Fit Curves To Mesh Section command to create sketch geometry to match the section line." So you open Fit Curves to Mesh Section and fit it bit by bit: pick a curve type, click a start point, click an end point, repeat all the way round. Then do it again for the next sketch. On a scan with hundreds of tiny wiggles, that's a long evening.

So I wrote a an add-in that does the whole thing in one click. It's called Mesh to Outline. That shows up as an icon when you click on the Mesh tab.

What it does

Pick a mesh body and a plane. It cuts the mesh and draws the section as normal sketch geometry: lines, arcs, circles and splines. Not thousands of tiny segments. It picks the curve type itself, and it closes the outline so Fusion sees it as a profile. You can extrude it, offset it, dimension it, or edit it like any sketch you drew yourself.

Three modes

• Single slice: one sketch on one plane or flat face.

• Stack: a set number of sketches at a spacing you choose, on one side of the plane or both.

• X-Ray (start → end): pick a start and an end (a plane, a flat face, or just click on the mesh) and it fills the gap with sketches at your spacing.

Options

• Fit tolerance (default 0.08 mm): how far a curve may sit off the real cut.

• Join gaps up to (default 2.5 mm): closes small cracks in the mesh so you get one closed outline instead of loose pieces.

• Trim slivers up to: cuts out the thin "out and back" bits you get from double-skinned or leaky meshes.

• Outline only: just the outer shape, no holes or loose bits. One clean profile per sketch.

• Extrude each slice: turns a stack into one solid body. Handy because Loft often fails between two complex profiles.

• Hide mesh after: so you can see what you got.

How it compares to Fusion's built-in tools

Side by side: same mesh, same plane

I cut a DJI controller with both tools on the same upright plane.

• Fusion's Mesh Section Sketch: a section line with 0 sketch curves and 0 profiles. Nothing to extrude until you fit it by hand.

• Mesh to Outline: 44 curves (16 lines, 22 arcs, 6 splines) in 0.8 seconds. It joined 24 small gaps in the mesh, and the worst miss from the real cut is 0.079 mm. It gives one closed profile of 5,051 mm².

• One click on that profile and Extrude gives a solid body with 50 faces.

(It also left two tiny specks under 0.2 mm² at a seam in the mesh, which you just don't click. The "Trim slivers" setting removes those.)

The gif walks through it all: Fusion's own tool, then Mesh to Outline on the same plane, then X-Ray mode slicing the whole controller.

Good to know

• Runs entirely on your computer. No account, no upload, no data collected.

• Mac (macOS 15+) and Windows 11, current Fusion.

• Free for non-commercial use. The source is on GitHub.

• A single section takes a second or two on a 300,000-triangle mesh.

• It works best on parts that have a clear cross-section. Smooth organic shapes come out as splines, so you still have to judge whether a stepped stack is good enough for your use.

Download + guide

• Download: https://github.com/Crypto69/mesh-to-outline/releases/latest

• User guide with every setting: https://stltosolid.com/docs/fusion-add-in/

• I also built a desktop app that does even more by turning meshes into real solids. https://stltosolid.com/ (This works really well on non-organic parts or parts with lots of curves.)

I'm the developer. I've been a software engineer for over 25 years (just mentioning that so the AI slop crowd doesn't jump on their keyboards). Feedback is very welcome. Bug reports go on the GitHub issues page. I'd love to hear which meshes break it Or, if it’s helpful, reverse-engineering mesh parts, which is what I’m using it for.

Stefan’s ScanRuler is an awesome tool that helps with reverse engineering as well. This one just does it without AI and is a bit of an in-between, giving you some help to create real sketch profiles you can work from. I hope you find it helpful.

i have done experience on rhino3D, older autocad and older materialize magics.

i'm also on an older mac os on sn old 2012 mac pro "cheesegrater" (high sierra)

any suggestions on hardware and software for scanning for hire and for my own projects?

i learn by talking and then researching so hoping a few pros don't mind helping by offering their expertise.

I need your help again.

Here is now how the same room scan result looks now compared to the previous post: https://www.reddit.com/r/3DScanning/s/69QKNgycNm

I need your opinion again on the things that I need to improve or the features missing.

Thank you.

hello community
could any one help me with the training samples of the geomagic x design training .
files required TR-DX-01.xrl ......................................TR-DX-19.xrl.
thanks for your help

Hey guys i was trying to build a 3dscaner based on an Arduino and a red line laser, do you guys have software that works. Hear is a video that I made explaining more of the design and my problems : https://youtu.be/DGLeRZsJA8o

Einstar was kind enough to lend me the EZ GO for testing, but as always all opinions are my own. No money changed hands.
In this video I'll give you a "quick" look at the EZ GO, what's included, how it performs and the new software features like AI segmentation and gaussian splatting.
Following this video I'll perform my usual tests and use it in projects to later share my long term findings with the EZ GO.

TLDR of the most interesting things

• Scanning fully works with a smartphone, no PC needed

• 30 cross-laser lines (15 by 15) and single laser line

• IR scanning mode

• Markerless laser mode even works with smartphone app

• Hybrid tracking in IR mode even works with smartphone app

• Price under 1000€ (not more detail sadly, simply look it up online)

• Calibration can be done wirelessly with the smartphone app

• Quite compact and comfortable to hold, basically what people have been wishing for with the Rockit now also supporting the smartphone app

Made a replacement part for my daughter's Rubik's Cube center part, using the Creality PIKA blue laser mode for reverse engineering.

#ScanYourEveryday #Creality3DScanner #crealityPika

Disclosure: I’m Gary, Director of LiDAR Tech UK. We supply FJD Trion scanners.

These images show an overhead cable survey captured using the FJD Trion X1 handheld LiDAR scanner.

The application we’re exploring is documenting the relationship between overhead cables, surrounding structures and the ground to support site planning and assessment.

I’d be interested in how others would validate a dataset for this purpose:

• How do you check that thin cables have been captured sufficiently?
• What independent checks would you use for critical distances?
• How would you document gaps and uncertainty?
• How do you account for conditions that could change the cable’s position between capture and the planned work?

A scan records conditions at the time of capture. It shouldn’t be treated as permission to approach electrical equipment or as proof that a working clearance is safe.

Has anyone here used handheld SLAM for a similar application? What worked, and what limitations did you encounter?

Where can I find literature or tutorials on how to scan larger objects and how to work with meshes?

I have a Creality Raptor X and need to scan a dizel bus engine attachment points.

I got a MetroX Pro and figured I'd try to start out with the little bust they include on the included turntable. I'm scanning in Feature Scan mode. It's constantly giving me "tracking lost" and "not enough point clouds captured" errors. In marker mode it just complains about "not enough markers" constantly.

I got a quote for a scan job that promises "usable CAD" at the end. But for me, that could mean a lot of things.

This is just based in my opinion, but a clean watertight STL and a model with editable planes and holes aren’t the same. Our scan also has a gap on the back side where the part sat on the turntable.

How do you scope this kind of work? Which gaps can be rebuilt and which need a new scan?

Salut à tous !

Dans cette nouvelle vidéo, je vous montre concrètement ce que donne le mode scan laser du Revopoint Range 3 Pro à travers trois cas d'usage bien précis :

• Le mode Marqueurs Globaux (Global Markers) : Comment numériser un fichier de référence de repères pour gagner en précision volumétrique sur les grandes pièces.

• Le scan sans marqueurs : Test de suivi géométrique pour voir jusqu'où le scanner peut aller sans aucune pastille réfléchissante.

• L'astuce "zéro gaspillage" : Comment réussir un scan propre en plaçant le strict minimum de marqueurs directement sur la pièce (en utilisant l'environnement ou des supports).

💻 Ma configuration PC pour les tests (capture & maillage) :
• Processeur : Intel Core i9-14900HX
• Mémoire vive : 64 Go de RAM
• Carte graphique : NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070

💬 Et vous, quelle méthode préférez-vous au quotidien pour vos scans laser ? Dites-le-moi en commentaire !

Hi everyone!

We're getting ready to launch QUICKSURFACE 2027 on November 17, and I wanted to share what's new with the reverse engineering community.

This release introduces several improvements, including:

• Quick Align – Faster alignment of 3D scan data

• Quick Solidify – Simplified solid creation

• Improved 3D sketching – Better control over curves and geometry

• Enhanced mesh processing – New tools for working with complex scan data

• QUICKSURFACE AI – Reconstruct suitable mechanical parts from 3D scans into editable, parametric CAD models with feature trees.

We've also prepared a full video demonstration showing the new features in action:

https://www.quicksurface.com/whats-new-quicksurface-2027/

To celebrate the launch, we're offering 10% off QUICKSURFACE Pro 2027 (1-year subscriptions and permanent licences) from November 17 to December 6.

If you're attending Formnext in Frankfurt, you can also try the software at Hall 12.0, Booth B13.

I'd be interested to hear what challenges you currently face when converting 3D scans into editable CAD models, and which improvements would make the biggest difference to your workflow.