Desktop 3D Scanners

I like the EinScan-SE & SP Desktop 3D scanners. When I reviewed them, it became clear to me that Shining3D has produced two compelling scanners. For $1299, the SE is …
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Introduction

This is a bit of background info about the history of affordable 3D scanners, so feel free to skip the intro and drive right into the Review.

Back in …
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The 3D scanner market is small compared to other markets like 3D printers but there are still a lot of options to choose from. This is especially true if you’re looking for a tripod-mounted structured light desktop 3D scanner. There are quite a few to choose from and on the outside they all look very similar: they all contain a digital projector and two cameras. So what are the differences then?

It turns out that beside differences in hardware specifications there are bigger differences in software. Manufacturers of scanners like this have usually built there software solution, including the structured light algorithms, from the ground up. This means they all offer a different user interface and workflow. And depending on your intended purpose one solution might fit into your own workflow than another.

After having reviewed the EinScan series of structured light scanners and the HP S3/DAVID SLS-3 it’s now time to test the Scan in a Box. Made in Italy by Open Technolgies, a company that also manufacturers industrial 3D scanners, this scanner is their first product aimed towards professionals with a tighter budget.

Let’s see how it works and how it compares to its main competitors.

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Last year I reviewed HP’s original Sprout Pro. I concluded that while the idea of a super-all-in-one PC with integrated 3D scanning capabilities was a great concept, the software that came with the machine was too basic to get the most out of the hardware. Specifically the fully automatic software lacked any kind of control over combining multiple cycles of structured light scans.

Recently, HP has released the Sprout Pro G2 with a mission to fix these issues and provide a more usable product overall. Like last time, Dutch Sprout reseller De Rekenwinkel kindly supplied me with a review unit to play with for a few weeks. They also updated their dedicated Dutch HP Sprout website for the new model.

The big question of course is: Is this the Sprout everyone has been waiting for? I think it’s pretty close! In this review I’ll show and tell you why. Again, this is not a review about the Sprout G2 in general, but purely about the 3D scanning capabilities of the machine.

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Little over month ago I wrote a preview post about the EinScan-SE & SP desktop 3D scanners, after attending the launch event in Shining 3D’s new office in Stuttgart, Germany. Now — after a few weeks of testing both devices — it’s not only time for a full in-depth, hands-on Review, but also a comparison between the two.

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HP might be best-known for their printers and computers, but now they’re entering the market of 3D scanning as well. The company started experimenting with this technology back in 2016 when they released the original Sprout all-in-one computer with built-in 3D scanner, which I reviewed a while ago. Recently, they released the Sprout G2, which I’ll review soon.

But while the Sprout line is targeted towards consumers and education, HP took a step into the professional market by acquiring DAVID in 2016. They’ve finished rebranding the product website and software, so it’s the perfect time for an in-depth, hands-on review of what now known as the HP 3D Structured Light Scanner Pro S3 but is better known under its original name: DAVID SLS-3.

I’ll compare this solution to other scanners I’ve reviewed in the past, as well as the Sprout’s internal 3D scanner.

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3D scanning is getting increasingly popular, and affordable. This not only leads to lots of new 3D scanning hardware you can connect to a computer or tablet, but also integrating it into these devices. There have been quite a few manufacturers that have build Intel RealSense depth sensors into laptops and tablets, but HP has taken a different approach. The company that “reinvents everything” has build a all-in-one desktop computer, that has a bit more emphasis on all. 

The Sprout by HP, as it’s called, not only has all the computer’s hardware inside the 23.6 inch touchscreen, but also has an integrated Sprout Illuminator. This overhead device houses a digital camera, Intel RealSense 3D Camera, a reading lamp and a DLP projector. The latter projects a second screen down onto the TouchMat a pressure-sensitive placemat that can be operated with fingers as well as the included stylus.

The Sprout comes with many applications that are specifically designed to use the TouchMat. It contains all kinds of creative apps that let you draw, make music and even stop-motion animations. It also comes with many educational apps. Some of them even use Augmented Reality (AR) to overlay virtual information on top of printed classroom materials.

I am, however, not going to talk about any of these features. There are many reviews online that do this already. In this review I’m just going to test the Sprout’s 3D scanning capabilities. But I’ll go quite a lot deeper into this than any other review out there.

My review hardware was kindly provided by Dutch Sprout Reseller De Rekenwinkel, which even made a dedicated website for the machine.

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I learned about the Chinese manufacturer Shining 3D in late 2014—back when I was still reviewing 3D printers—when they released their Einstart-S Desktop 3D Printer. And although I wasn’t actively blogging in 2015, I did notice thesuccessful Kickstarter campaign for their first 3D Scanner, the Einscan-S, which was released in July 2015.

I’ve also reviewed the Einscan-Pro an compared it to the Einscan-S in every aspect—read my Einscan-Pro Review here.

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