I know this is all a bit premature - but I've been wondering: Once I have got my 3D Printer working, what should my first print job be? Spare parts / upgrades for my Prusa? Little plastic widgets and gizmos (like bottle openers and key rings etc) to hand around, to spread the word about the RepRap goodness?
And then it struck me (it’s obvious really): What I really need is a 3D Photocopier!
Here’s a “home brew” 3D scanner (plastic parts created with a desktop 3D printer) called SpinScan : http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:9972
- Place object to be copied onto the SpinScan turntable
- SpinScan creates a 3D “point cloud” which you can convert into an STL file using the free (open source) MeshLab software
- Load the STL file into the 3D Printer host software
- Press “Print”
Voila! 3D photocopying in your own home!
Beam me up, Scotty!
Edit 15 September 2011:
Edit 15 September 2011:
This just gets cooler and cooler – it turns out you don’t even need to BUILD a 3D scanner – all you need is a digital camera (even your phone will work!) to take a bunch of digital photos (or short video) as you move around your target, and then you upload to this site to generate a “3D point cloud” from your digital photos / video for free:
(This MIGHT even have some applicability for work – it won’t be “survey accurate”, but when you can create a 3D pdf file like the attached for free, it definitely has some potential for visualisation purposes!)
Here's the scanner I plan on building - http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3946
ReplyDeletepnit,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link - I had no idea there were so many options for home-built desktop 3D Scanners! I think this will definitely be my next project - after I get my Prusa working, of course!
A spare set of RP parts!
ReplyDeletePut some up on http://www.emakershop.com/ too, it would be nice to have the option of buying some of the parts locally!
Yes, spare parts and upgrades will probably be the first "real" things I print, and once I am happy with the quality that I am able to produce, I will be more than happy to print parts for others at basically my cost - I would love to be able to contribute something to the growth of the RepRap community in my own small way.
ReplyDeleteHowever, at the rate my build is progressing (not!) - don't hold your breath waiting for me to become your primary supplier of RP'ed parts!
You left the Exchange server redirector in the URL for my3dscanner.com. You might wanna tidy that up
ReplyDeleteThanks Roller - I have fixed the URL for my3dscanner.com.
ReplyDelete