Flexscan 3D - Software to Create a Low Cost 3D Scanner

Just Add Hardware

Flexscan provides the 'brains' behind a low cost 3D scanner. All you need is a computer, a good quality data projector and a digital SLR camera or high speed vision camera. Flexscan links all the hardware together to take 3D photos of objects ranging from people to cars. Flexscan is a low cost white light scanner that projects structured stripe patterns from the data projector which is recorded by the cameras. The software then creates a 3D image from the stripes.

Stripes projected onto an object

Textured 3D scan from Flexscan

The data quality of Flexscan is of high enough quality for reverse engineering as well as for visualisation. Colour cameras will also capture information to map colour texture maps to the scan data.

Flexscan can support one or two cameras. Twin SLR camera setups require two different model SLR cameras.

Single Camera Setup

Pros:

* Perfect for single-view 3D scanning analyses
* Low hardware cost
* Fast scanning and processing time

Twin Camera Setup

Pros:

* 3x accuracy versus a single camera
* High point density
* Ease of setup and portabiliy
* Auto scan noise and distortion protection

Sample datasets can be downloaded from the Flexscan site here.

Scaleable & Upgradeable

Most 3D scanners are restricted to specific cameras and light projection. Many proprietary systems come as a single unified unit that works under limited parameters that can’t adapt to changes in scanning needs over time.

FlexScan3D captures objects with a wide range of shapes and sizes without having to spend money on a new system every time a new requirement comes up. The software is flexible to your scanning needs. Simply add or upgrade the hardware components to expand and/or customize the scanning system as needed.

* Create high quality 3D models from real objects
* Accurately measure complex surfaces fast. Over 1 million points per scan
* Exports to a number of standard formats (xyz, asc, obj, stl)
* Works with any scan processing software

Specifications

FlexScan3D software work with a variety of hardware to meet the cost and performance characteristics for most scanning applications.

Point Density

Scan Time

Actual time per scan is dependent on the specific camera equipment used, these are

Scanning Field of View

These are standard settings and will vary by hardware configuration. FlexScan3D will support a number of scanning windows. The values below were taken from a 1024x768 projector.

Windows PC

Minimum Requirements:

* Windows XP or Vista
* 2.0 GHz Intel Pentium IV or AMD Athlon XP or equivalent
* 512 MB RAM (2 GB RAM Recommended)
* DirectX 9.0c compatible 64MB video card (256 MB recommended)

Supported Digital Cameras

Please check your camera using the generic driver in FlexScan3D. The software typically supports the following models:

* Most Canon or Nikon SLR cameras
* Some Point and Shoot Cameras

While point-and-shoot cameras will work, the capture speed and image quality will hinder your ability to get high-quality scans. We recommend using a Nikon or Canon SLR to capture good 3D scans. Images sizes larger than 10mp are not recommended as most PC’s do not have enough memory to process the dataset.

Nikon Digital SLR

* D40, D40x, D50, D60, D70, D80, D90, D200, D300, D700

Canon Digital SLR

* EOS-1D Mark II, EOS-1Ds Mark II, EOS 1D Mark II N
* EOS-20D
* EOS 350D /Digital Rebel XT / Kiss Digital N
* EOS 5D
* EOS 30D
* EOS 400D/Digital Rebel XTi / Kiss Digital X
* EOS-1D Mark III
* EOS 40D
* EOS-1Ds Mark III
* EOS 450D/Rebel XSi
* EOS 1000D/Rebel XS
* EOS 5D Mark II
* EOS 50D

Supported Video Cameras

Ueye brand USB cameras are tested and supported.