Archive notice: This article was originally published on August 3, 2006. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
The company Nextengine is showing a 3D scanner for only 2,495 dollars at Siggraph. The device is connected via USB 2.0 and is extremely compact. The scanner also includes a plate on which the user attaches the workpiece to be scanned. Despite the low price, the 3D.scanner, with 0.12 millimetre accuracy, is hardly worse comparable devices. Nextengine promises that its specially developed techniques output a mesh that is extremely clean and immediately usable for animation.
Each scanning process takes approximately 90 seconds, and on average up to twelve scans are needed for an average object. The scanning process can also be interrupted and continued after repositioning the scanner.
In order for the scans to fit together, the user must stick small markers in the form of red spheres onto the object. As soon as at least two of these markers can be seen in adjacent recordings, the scanner automatically joins the two models together.
The software works closely with SolidWorks, which is why the scanner will not appear until the next SolidWorks release. The scanner or its software currently runs only under Windows.
Further Links:
- Nextengine
