Is Your iPhone Good Enough to Be a 3D Scanner?
For creating 3D printer files, your options include smartphone apps or expensive standalone scanners.
Most 3D scanners are handheld devices that scan small to medium-sized objects with a high degree of accuracy. The resulting files are used for 3D modeling or 3D printing and they can produce fantastic results -- if you're patient and willing to learn how to use them.
These scanners, like the popular Revopoint Pop 2, can cost $700 and have a steep learning curve. Alternatively, if you own an iPhone 12 Pro or higher you can almost recreate what a fancy 3D scanner does. It isn't quite as accurate, especially for 3D printing, but if you spend some time tweaking, the output can be just about as good.
Read more: Best 3D Printer
Creating 3D prints from files uploaded to communities like Thingiverse or Printables is fine, but once you can scan and recreate real-world objects, there's no limit to what you can create. For example, you could replicate a collectible figure or scan a broken mechanical part to recreate it.
Using a 3D scanner
Pros:
Can capture detail down to 0.1mm
Dimensional accuracy is excellent
Very little clean-up when you succeed
Cons:
Often costs more than a 3D printer
Software is often very hard to use
Creating a usable model is painfully difficult
3D scanners use reflected light -- sometimes in the form of lasers -- to map the surface of an object. The scanner uses two cameras to judge depth and create a "point cloud" that can be fused together to make a solid object. That solid model is often incredibly accurate down to the smallest crack or imperfection.
2023-05-26 19:54:55
