By Robert Puchalik
It was only a matter of time, after the advent of the commercially available 3D printers, that an affordable, useable 3D scanner would come along. The New SCANIFY from Fuel 3D is that scanner, and it is a groundbreaking one, for those in the increasingly prevalent 3D movement. Its low price and ease of use open up a whole world of 3D scanning to those previously priced out of the technology. With SCANIFY, users can make easy, accurate and quick 3D, full-color captures of the human form, fabrics, stone and masonry work, wood carvings, artefacts, sculptures, plants, flowers–nearly any smooth, simple 3D object you can think of.
SCANIFY works by coupling a pair of pre-calibrated stereoscopic, 3.5 megapixel cameras, with three Xenon flashes and advanced imaging software to allow you to capture everyday objects as accurate, color 3D models for printing, animation and other applications. If that little bit of Oxford University-developed ingenuity doesn’t impress you, SCANIFY also offers advanced image stabilizing technology through the use of small, sticky-backed tracking targets which, when placed in the area being scanned, allow the SCANIFY to automatically compensate for any shaking or hand-movement that occurs during scanning. This allows SCANIFY to ensure incredible accuracy–down to less than half a millimeter.
For one thing, there are so many other things you can scan with it. For instance, let’s say you’re designing your dream home in a 3D design program, and you come across a particular wall sconce or doorknob that you’d maybe like to incorporate into your design. Well SCANIFY is small and light enough for you to carry anywhere, so you can take a quick snap of your find and, by running it through the included Fuel3D Studio software, manipulate the scan to your liking and export it to whatever file format you desire. See? It’s as simple as that. It’s so quick that you’ll wonder what to do with all the time you’ve saved yourself. Try to find something to do with that time other than scan your dog.
Or perhaps you want to incorporate your face into a 3D model you are making. Okay, that’s a bit narcissistic, but whatever floats your boat. And now you don’t have to expend the time and effort to create an accurate (or perhaps overly flattering) 3D illustration of your face, you can just snap away with SCANIFY and in less than a second you have a 3D selfie that you can incorporate into whatever design you’re making, whether it be for a 3D animation or a 3D-printed object. So, of course, you are now thinking “Well, if it can scan MY face, why can’t it scan my dog’s face?” Put your SCANIFY down and give him a doggie treat instead.
Or maybe you have an object that you’d like to scan for 3D printing. Something like an old, one-of-a-kind wood carving that you’d like to be able to reproduce. No longer do you have to measure all the dimensions with your micrometer and painstakingly recreate the object in a program. Instead, just scan your real-world object with SCANIFY, open it up in your 3D editing software, and edit away. You can even take multiple scans and combine them to create a complete object, then send off to your 3D printer for printing. It’s as simple and quick as that.
It is the first fast, easy-to-use and affordable 3D scanner available to the consumer market, opening up the world of 3D content design and creation to the public. It represents a significant leap forward in the technology of 3D scanning.
