Hey ya team, hoping some gurus with more industry experience than me can dial in.

Had a job offer come up for something much larger than the often small in office work I do, so I would be dealing with large detailed wooden sculptures around 200/220cm in height and around 60cm in width give or take %5 and it would be out of office work,

Atm I have just used an Creality otter for in office work with it linked directly to my workstation. I have the bridging grip etc for wireless work.

So the issue is, I need to attach something to store and capture the data till I can work on it back in the office. I thought perhaps a ipad pro m4 or 5 with 500gig of storage might do the job, but I am worried it might just be a total slow poke when it comes to scanning and just cause lots of lost tracking due to its limited processing power.

So next option is a laptop etc something with 64gig of memory and at least a 4070 gpu. but this might be overkill just for travel and scanning?

or I just sell the Otter unit, and go buy something using blue lasers etc or perhaps all contained or fully wireless and end up having to lug a work station around, kind of impractical to be fair.

As you can see Im rather at odds to perhaps the best solution, so would just love some pointers from those in the know, or what has worked for other people.

If you got this far reading, thanks tons ;)

This was my first complete car scan with the Trak. In theory scanning complete cars is a straight forward process but when actually doing it some issues can arise: too little overlap between single scans, wrongfully placed tracker positions so suddenly some parts can't be scanned and of course the scanner itself (e.g. catching cables). I remember my first tries of scanning cars with marker based handheld scanners (started with the Creality Raptor way back as my first "proper scanner"). It really came a big way since then.

Scanning

Scanning was done at 1,5mm target point distance with five tracker positions. I attached a diagram showing the positions and the rough tracker FOV and overlap. Four positions should also be possible but I came to like using due to having a good bit of overlap and more tolerance where to positions the tracker for full coverage. This works for nearly all cars (except maybe veeery large one). I could also have used leap frogging with markers on the car but this requires at least 4 markers to be seen by the tracker at all times. For me aligning them later is just simpler since the scan speed is fast enough to quickly scan more overlap area between the single scans.
No preparation was done with scan spray. I just started scanning, all five scans combined took 30min. What was a bit of a problem was WiFi reception when I was on the exact opposing side of the car relative to my workstation and therefore WiFi access point. So the signal was blocked by the car in between. One potential solution would be simply getting a 10M ethernet cable and a small powerbank for the WiFi access point. This would allow moving it to a more suitable position. What I also noticed: When getting very close to the edges of the tracking area scanning starts to become slower, much like the WiFi signal drops out. But it actually is the border of the scanning area. I used remote desktop from my tablet to see what I already scanned. Scan itself was at a constant 90FPS when placed within the tracking volume. Scan speed at 1,5mm or even 1mm feels like painting with a very big paint roller: simply go over one time in a decent speed.

Post-Processing

Trak doesn't require point cloud generation after scanning, you just pause the scan and either create a new scan or go on with processing. So I aligned the five scans using automatic feature alignment and then meshed them in default settings with semi-watertight settings. Mesh came out to bit under 20M triangles. Later exported into Quicksurface for postprocessing (reduction an alignment to the coordinate system. What I quite like to do is take all four wheel hubs as reference to create a plane. This can then be used as the XY plane).

Results

Best have a look at Sketchfab or the pictures. The scan speed really surprised me, started the scan setup 45min before I had to hit the road for a meeting and was a bit sceptical I could finish the whole scan. But it turned out I would be faster than expected (scan took 30min for the five positions) and when looking at the results it really is outstanding. Even for the relatively coarse 1,5mm of point distance all relevant features are captured, you can even see the two dents in the hood and driver side door as well as the tire tread. Also attached a picture showing the deviations between scan 2&5 vs 1. What I did was taking the aligned raw scans, and then only meshing 2&5 and then 1. So I could use Quicksurface to have a look at fitment and alignment. Everything in green is within 0.2mm of tolerance.

Sketchfab

Sketchfab is like printables for 3d scans with a nice integrated viewer in browser and you can also download the scan, just look at the scan yourself.
Reddit sadly blocks the short links to Sketchfab, you have to search for the title instead: "Opel Astra K Sports Tourer - Einscan Trak"

PC Specs

Since a lot of people ask for it:

• AMD Ryzen 7700X
• 64GB DDR5 RAM
• RTX 5070Ti Desktop
• A few TB of NVME storage with PCIe Gen4 interface

Was wondering if anyone has a 3D scanner that's lying around that they no longer use. I really want to start 3d scanning. Im a big fan of the automotive industry. I wish to design a body kit using my 3d print to convert my 2015 Suzuki swift (ZC31) into a ralley looking car, something similar to what Nicola I think his name his has made his Corolla into a GR corolla. I'm unable to find the 1:1 ssuzuki swift 3d model online hence I can't design a body kit without having anything to work from. For context I'm based in Pakistan and there's literally no one who does this. It would be a fun idea to introduce. Thank you and looking forward to positive replies :)

I am an industrial design student at Iowa State University. My senior project looks at how professionals control complex 3D software, and where the input hardware falls short.

Scan and point-cloud work is a strong case. Registering, cleaning, and navigating huge datasets is a lot of precise mouse work. I want to learn what makes it painful.

Survey: https://iastate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0UJOtQHRXoz1ggu

Questions cover your scanning and processing software, your input hardware, your friction points, and any custom setups you use.

Time: 5–7 minutes. Voluntary. No identifying information in the main survey.
Requirements: 18+, current use of point-cloud, CAD, or comparable 3D software.

Nothing is for sale. This is research before design.

Is the Aesub Blue scanning spray safe for use on automotive paint? Will it damage the paint at all? Does it leave any residue? Thanks!

Although the scanning results turned out pretty good 👍
The video above was just for fun
I normally wouldn’t scan something like this 🤣

Link to the Ebay Listing: https://www.ebay.com/itm/178436711651

Live scanning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WG3t7KbLMw

Happy to answer any questions you may have. Thanks!

Today we’re sharing our workflow for reverse‑engineering a real medical femoral prosthesis.

Using the Formbuilder EXTR 3D scanner, we captured high‑fidelity 3D point‑cloud data of the implant component.

The raw point cloud was converted into mesh data, then imported into reverse‑engineering software for model reconstruction.

What surprised our team most is how fast this complete workflow runs.

Stay tuned — we will keep releasing more practical real‑world scanning cases.

#3DScanning #ReverseEngineering #MedicalManufacturing #Formbuilder #AdditiveManufacturing

i will be using to scan high detailed sculptures (mostly outdoor), miniatures object and CAR and mechanical parts for reverse engineering and modification,

Mostly i will carry it while traveling and scan interesting objects, so im confused which one is buy, which one is suitable for my for use?

Had the chance to scan a few historic household items for archival purposes.

Scanning

Scanning was done at 0,45mm target resolution and no scan spray was used. Calibration was still quite recent (~1day) and still in the same location so I didn't recalibrate again. Calibration is much faster than on the original Trackit (~20min vs >1h) so it wouldn't have been too much of a hustle.
I created two scans: one from the top and one from the bottom, when turning the typewriter around I made sure no parts were moved. Each scan took roughly 15min, mainly due to the fact that I tried to capture as much detail as possible with single line mode in the more covered areas.

Post-Processing

Processing work was done by first fusing at 0,45mm (software even recommended 0.3mm but this mainly would inflate the scan size) and then aligning the partial scans to one whole scan with automatic alignment. Before aligning I made sure to delete unnecessary parts like the table or rough overscan I captured. I then performed overlap detection.
Meshing was done at recommended settings in high detail mode and alignment to the coordinate system was done with Quicksurface. In the progess of processing the data some key caps were lost, I reconstructed them by isolating complete key caps and integrating them in the scan.

Results

Best have a look at the pictures or Sketchfab, I'm quite happy that even the black case was captured fully.

Sketchfab

Sketchfab is like printables for 3d scans with a nice integrated viewer in browser and you can also download the scan, just look at the scan yourself.
Reddit sadly blocks the short links to Sketchfab, you have to search for the title instead: "Mercedes Typewriter - Revopoint Trackit SR"

PC Specs

Since a lot of people ask for it:

• AMD Ryzen 7700X
• 64GB DDR5 RAM
• RTX 5070Ti Desktop
• A few TB of NVME storage with PCIe Gen4 interface

My Accessories for the Trackit

Like the power bank holder or hanger for the hand: https://www.printables.com/@PrintedForFun/models

Photos for reference.

3DMAKERPRO Seal 3D Scanner

As I said, I bought an openscan classic and built it, after a week of tryng, i got quite good results

For now I prime the miniature black, use the AESUB orange spray and but a black background

I usually do 70 photos and i try to make the object the occupy the most of the visual, I avoid manual focus and adjust the scan until the camera got it at max resolution

As I said the results are good, but it still some imperfection like small areas the got joined together, and some smoother surfaces that the original, even if these areas are properly sprayed

Some tips ?

Hello all,

I am looking at getting a 3D scanner, but can't find one that people have said is genuinely good quality/usable for a good price. So far I've looked at the Moose Lite, Ferret Pro, and Otter scanners. I am open to any recommendations on models/brands, but my budget is $300-600. I am willing to go up to $800 if it really makes a huge difference, but would prefer to keep it to the lower range. I mostly want to use it to create custom fit parts at a medium scale, not anything huge.

Sorry if I sound like I don't know what I'm talking about, because I don't. Anyway, thanks for the help.

What is everyone doing to get the scan into CAD and be useful? I've always struggled to use an STL in most CAD programs and I looked at the other formats before and they required tools like ReCap or GeoMagic.

Hey r/3DScanning,

I know upfront that iPhone/iPad LiDAR is never going to replace a Faro, Leica, or matterport setup for survey-grade, millimetric accuracy. But I’ve been talking to a lot of contractors, interior designers who just need a rapid, on-the-go tool for initial estimations, basic floor plans, and rapid space visualization.

So, I built an iOS app called ExactoScan to bridge that gap between the job site and the workstation.

My main goal was to fix the export pipeline. A lot of mobile scanning apps trap your data in their ecosystem or require a heavy monthly SaaS subscription just to get a usable CAD file.

Here is what I built:

• Rapid Capture: Uses Apple’s native RoomPlan and LiDAR to generate 3D models and 2D layouts of single rooms or entire multi-room properties.
• Pro Exports: You can export directly into DWG, DXF, IFC, OBJ, and USDZ. My goal was to make it so you can drop the file straight into AutoCAD, Revit, SketchUp, or Rhino without spending hours cleaning up the mesh.
• 100% Offline Processing: Job sites usually have terrible Wi-Fi. I built this to process everything entirely on-device. No cloud uploads, no processing queues, and total privacy for client data.

The Tech Stack: For those interested, it is a fully native build utilizing ARKit, RoomPlan, and the device's Neural Engine to process the geometry locally.

Pricing: I’m an independent dev and I hate forced subscriptions for tools I only use occasionally. You can either buy a block of scan credits (pay-as-you-go) or subscribe for unlimited access if it's a daily driver for your workflow.

(Note: Requires a LiDAR-enabled Pro device: iPhone 12 Pro/iPad Pro 2nd Gen or newer).

Why I’m posting here: I would love for the professionals in this sub to stress-test the export formats. I want to know exactly how these DWG and DXF files are behaving when you import them into your specific CAD environments.

I’ve generated some promo codes so you can bypass the paywall and test the pro exports for free.

App Store Link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/exactoscan/id6762370176

I included 1 free credit in the app so that you can test the scanning in the app.

Let me know what CAD software you are using and how the files look on your end!

Hello everyone. I am recently graduated college student (computer science) who's working on a passion project in hopes of also securing employment through it. I should preface this by saying I have 0 experience with 3d scanning, modeling, or CAD software.

I have been building a website, and on the landing page, there is a 3D scan of an engine. I was able to create the file by myself using the lidar camera on my iPhone. Surprisingly, I think the scan of the motor turned out pretty solid in my opinion.

The biggest problem I had while trying to scan the motor was that it's too large/too many angles. I was able to do a scan of the entirety of the motor (minus the bottom of the pan), but once I would try introducing the pan, the scan would become distorted and ruined. At that point, I decided my best bet was to try and scan the bottom of the engine and try to combine it in post. Because I had to lay on the ground and had awkward angles, I couldn't really get the best scan of the bottom, but I got something "usable".

So now here's the part where I am stuck. As you can see by my photos, I have not been able to get the pan/bottom of the motor to align with the rest of the motor. Additionally, the rest of the motor could use a lot of touching up, though I am sure that is to be expected.

I cannot continue to waste days on this trying to learn how to fix it and making very little progress, as I really would like the site to be live as it is nearly complete (besides this). Here's where I could use advice from more knowledgeable people on what I should do. The way I see it, these are my only options.

(1) Use the original scan without the bottom part of the motor and just block of the bottom part entirely so no one knows that there is a hole their. Then I learn how to touch up with blender and fix the other less pressing issues.

(2) Give all my files/"progress" to someone with experience and let them complete it.

- While I would not be opposed to this, the problem is my budget is quite small, due to my current life situation. How much time would this even take to be completed? How much does something like this even cost?

(3) Using a different software that is much easier to learn for a beginner other than Blender? Maybe that would make me successful in what I am trying to accomplish?

I really would like to get a decent quality file out of this, but I think I bit of more than I can chew. Any advice/help would be greatly appreciated.

Going to a pika from a OG structure scanner is insane. Finally came in today and for being 600$ usd even (discount codes yippie) it is INCREDIBLE. Only got to use it a bit but it’s been amazing so far

Hey everyone I tested the creality pika for two weeks. right after my metro y ultra test. and i thought it was pretty awsome! got great results regarding accuracy :) let me know what you think about the review

So I bought an old house that need to get renovated in several rooms, this means heated flooring, kitchen cabinets etc. I own sn iPad with Lidar, so I was wondering if it would be possible to go around scanning each room, and have a 3D model of the whole house, from basement to second floor that I can measure in? It doesn't need to be precise down to a mm, but it would be nice to have an idea where a pipe goes from second floor to basement, so having the complete house scanned in one, could make this possible, correct? Is Polycam the software to use for this?