Improving 3D Scans

After all, the better the 3D Scan input, the better the 3D Print output. But how can you make your 3D scans turn out better so you can do less clean-up work? Miles Guidon of Hollywood 3D Printing gives some tips as scanned Tom and Tracy Hazzard for some fun “mini-me’s.” Tom and Tracy also share some tips of their own after going through the process and the lengthy 3D scan clean-up.

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We will talk about anything scanning related.

We needed some more information because that is not something we have a great amount of experience in.

This episode’s question is, “How can I make my 3D scans better?”

That’s a great question because if you start with a better scan, then you have a whole lot less work to do afterward. The cleanup is what takes the most time.

We learned a few things when we went to Hollywood 3D Printing to have ourselves scanned.

Which will be a longer episode and we’ll hear more about it.

There are a few tips we can give you off the bat to help make your 3D scans better. The number one tip is to make sure you have good and adequate lighting.

You need lighting in an interesting way. You need lighting into every place that there are lots of nooks, crannies and dark shadows. It can’t read it if it’s a dark shadow.

If you’re having a person’s body scanned, the clothing they’re wearing has a lot to do with it because the color and material of certain clothing are going to show up better in lighting than others.

It seemed to have a lot of problems with reading textures. My hair is curly and that was problematic because you couldn’t get enough light. You had a lot of shadow areas and it reads funky. At the same time, when we have a flat area or if my hair was all smooth out, the texture does add something when you print it. If you can get good lighting on it, then it adds something better to the overall print when you’re done with it.

The other thing is these scanners you use for large objects are hand-held. The distance you have to move around and walk around on an object is important.

What did Miles say? Miles Guidon was from Hollywood 3D Printing who did our scans for us. He said, “Triple the space.”

Improving 3D Scans: The number one tip for good 3D scan quality is to make sure you have good and adequate lighting.

Triple the space that you think you need. When you think about that you’re doing a whole person, you’ve got to have a large space that also has good lighting.

If you’re going to be doing this as a service or part of your business, you ought to think about having enough space where you put a small group of people, like a family or a couple together if they’re going to be wedding topper. Trying to do them separately and then connecting them seems problematic to me. You might want to scan them at the same time together.

There’s a lot of trial and error but people could do that.

That means you need a lot more space.

In terms of 3D scanning, we’re a bit in the Wild West with this. There are lots of better quality scanners and there are low-quality scanners and then when you get a result, there’s a lot of work you have to do with it. This is why some of these tips are adequate lighting and good space around your object.

You have to consider what you’re wearing or the textural qualities of what you have. Maybe even the color qualities because the color image map adds most of the detail. The plainness of what you’re wearing is easier to scan.

Another good tip, especially if you’re using your own equipment or maybe even if you’re going to use a service, bring a couple of changes of clothing. Test a couple of things with the color of the clothing and the texture so that you can make it the best choice possible.

You can always hold your skirt up, have a quick scan of it, see how it looks and then say, “That’s not going to work,” and try it again. That’s important to consider that. I wore high heels because I’m 5’2 and I wanted to be taller. It couldn’t catch the area in between my heel and my shoe. It looked like I had these wedges on, which if I had known it, I would’ve worn a pair of wedges. It would’ve been a whole lot easier for everybody.

In another episode, we’ll deal with some of those technical details of how to end up with a good result or how you have to clean them up. Considering what you’re wearing and some experimentation is advised.

Whether or not you want to do it with glasses or without, wear your hair up or down, and smoother or curly. Those are some considerations. A trial and error process is important for you to go out there and experience it and see what works for you.

I know that scratches the surface but hopefully, that gives you some good tips to punch you in the right direction to try to make 3D scans better. If you have any more questions about that, please go to our website and ask us another question. Send us an email.

Ask us on social media or HazzDesign.com or @HazzDesign everywhere.

Thanks for reading.

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