14 DAY TRIAL // Desktop 3D printing is great, or at least it could be. But right now, the best that the technology can offer isn't all that impressive and that's without accounting for the fact that printing your first object requires many, many hours of learning and testing.
This is true for 3D scanning as well. The ability to scan an existing object and then print it is great since it bypasses a very time-consuming step, 3D modeling.
But even the best desktop 3D scanners need a lot of preparation and some expertise to get the most out of them.
MakerBot's Digitizer is easy enough to use, compared to most other devices in the 3D printing space, but it's still not plug and play. So the company has been running a series of instructional videos for owners or prospective owners of the Digitizer.
In the second blog post of the series, the company talks about placement, calibration and lighting, three crucial requirements for getting quality models. The first installment is here.
To get the best results, the Digitizer needs to be placed on a solid surface, away from any direct or reflected lights.
Before your first scans, calibration is a must, particularly since the scanner behaves differently depending on the specific conditions at your location. Finally, the less external light during the scans, the better, as perfect darkness works best.
MakerBot goes into more detail on each step on its site, so you should check that out as well. It also has some random tips and tricks for you to try out.
"If you need to capture more detail, set the option to Dark mode—even if the object is light colored. Be prepared for your scan to have some extra noise though," MakerBot explained.
"Hang black felt on wall facing your MakerBot Digitizer to darken the wall’s surface. That way any light in the room won't bounce off the black background and cause bright spots the camera might think are part of the laser line," it added.
"Place an open umbrella behind your MakerBot Digitizer (i.e. not in the direction of its lasers) to improve scan results. Don't do this during calibration though," it wrote.
