May.25, 2013
There are a lot DIY scanners out there, but Bernhard from VirtuMake wanted to build a time-of-flight scanner at home. Time-of-flight scanners are based a simple principle: if we know how long a laser takes to reach an object and reflect back to a sensor, we know how far away that object is.
So the heart of this type of scanner is a time-of-flight laser rangefinder. Bernhard's latest project the VirtuRange LIDAR 3D scanner uses a hacked Fluke Laser rangefinder that you can get in any hardware store. It got a USB interface from Porcupine electronics and was mounted on two stepper motors. The laser rangefinder finds the distance of a surface by timing the round-trip time of a pulse of light.
The motors are controlled by an Arduino and a Python script moves the range finder around. The script records the position of the motors and reads the distance from the laser rangefinder. It can then calculate a pointcloud and save it in the PLY format. You can use Meshlab to view this pointcloud and it is pretty accurate.
Watch the video below to see how it works:
You can get the files on Thingiverse.
Posted in 3D Scanning
Maybe you also like:
- H3Dpro - 3D body scan and 3D figurine printing on Indiegogo
- 3D scanning reveals caterpillars turning into butterflies
- The Smithsonian is 3D-scanning the past for future generations
- Could 3D scanner detect mist, ice or humidity? Here are the remarkable results!
- Creaform to introduce robot-mounted 3D scanners
- Kinect@Home spinoff Volumental aims to be "The Youtube of 3D"
- 3D scanning the Sydney Opera House for future generations
- Creaform Launches handheld Health Care Partner 3D Scanner
- Using 3D body scanner to help you find the right bike
- Artec introduces new hand-held 3D scanner Spider
- New 3D scanner creates high-resolution 3D images from a kilometer away
- Affordable Photon 3D Scanner: scan items with one click
- Digiteyezer annoucing AlterEgo, a fully automated "scan-to-print" solution
- Autodesk announces ReCap: Creating 3D data from photos and scans
- 3D scanner helps artist create life-sized racehorse sculpture
3Ders.org provides the latest news about 3D printing technology and 3D printers. We are now seven years old and have around 1.5 million unique visitors per month.
