14 DAY TRIAL // 3D printers started out as large, unruly things that cost somewhere in the tens of thousands of dollars, but now they're a lot cheaper. By contrast, their newly invented “opposite,” shall we say, have only just started out and are very cheap.
I've already brought you MakerBot's 3D Scanner, the first one to ever be designed for the public. Now, a second such product has appeared, one that seeks to totally oust it. How? By selling it for a dirt-cheap price, that's how.
MakerBot's Digitizer Desktop 3D Scanner was rated at $1,400 / €1,400. Rubicon's 3D Scanner only costs $200 / €200.
Rubicon uses a webcam to take photos with the device’s lasers on and off. The scanned item has to be on the turntable at all times, and turns at 0.45 degrees 800 times for the full image. The process takes about 3 minutes and is good for anything no wider than 160 mm / 6.29 inches or higher than 250 mm / 9.84 inches.
There's a catch though: the webcam isn't actually included with the scanner, and there haven't been any live demos, only promises on the Indiegogo project website. If the idea really is as awesome as it sounds, though, it might work. The man behind the item, all on his own, has already raised a lot more than the $25,000 / €18,500 he was looking for.
