General Info

WatiMake has loaned AVRIL and the IDEAS Clinic a 3D Scanner, if it is not in AVRIL Contact Brian Schilingford for access to it.

The Scanner is fairly old and made by Artec.  It uses a camera and an IMU to generate a 3D mesh in its proprietary software.

Using the Scanner

Follow these steps to use the scanner

1. Setup the computer, plug in all necessary cables for regular computer use, mounting, keyboard etc.
2. Connect the 3D scanner to wall power and its USB to the computer.
3. Launch Artec Studio, click on "Scan" in the upper left corner, this will bring up[ a new panel.
4. Select Preview to allow the scanner to begin scanning. Once ready to start the scan, pull the trigger once on the scanner to being recording.
5.  Once the scan is complete pull the trigger again to end the scan.

Tips for Creating Better Scans

1. When you start a scan, hold the scanner in the same place for a few moments for it to generate a good mesh.
2. Once the Scan has started, make sure to move slowly and fluidly, imagine your hand is moving through molasses.
3. If the scanner/computer starts making a fast ticking noise the scanner has gotten lost.  Go back to a know good scan spot to allow the scanner to determine where it is.
4.  When the scanner is lost the mesh on the computer will appear red, no new information will be saved while the mesh is red.

Post Processing and Exporting

Scans are very messy and need to post-processed in order to get rid of all the scan garbage and retain what you want.

1. After you have your scan or have opened a previous one, click on the editor on the left side.  This will allow you to use the erase tool.
2. Go through and delete all parts of the scan that are not needed.
3. Proceed to "XXXXXX" and click auto, this fill takes care of a lot of small things in the mesh file.
4. Click "File" in the top left and select "Export" change the export type to ".stl" and save the file where it is wanted.  It can then be opened in many CAD softwares.