Posted on 08/22/2013 9:17:01 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
In case you haven’t noticed, 3D printers are all the rage these days. People are using 3D printers to print Aston Martin replicas, there’s a number of household items you “manufacture,” and even NASA’s bringing a 3D printer onto the International Space Station. But with all these 3D printables, you either need to download the code from a site like Thingiverse, or create the 3D code yourself with your printer’s included software. What if you want to print a replica of something that already exists without building the code yourself? MakerBot, one of the leading innovators in 3D printing, has the solution: the Digitizer 3D Scanner, which is available for pre-order today.
We got a preview of the Digitizer back at SXSW in March, but weren’t exactly sure when we’d see these scanners surface. The Digitizer can scan objects up to 8 inches tall and 8 inches wide, and up to 6.6 pounds. Using lasers, the Digitizer scans the object to create a 3D digital file that can then be printed on the company’s Replicator Desktop printers, and is optimized to work with MakerBot MakerWare, and Thingiverse. Once you scan the objects in, you can of course tweak it to your liking in your 3D modeling program of choice. The Digitizer outputs an STL file, so programs that support STLs, like 3D scuplting and mesh modeling programs, will work. MakerBot recommends Autodesk’s MeshMixer and Pixologic’s Sculptris for beginners.
According to the company, the Digitizer isn’t for everyone. “The MakerBot Digitizer is for early adopters, experimenters, and visionaries who want to be pioneers in Desktop 3D Scanning,” the MakerBot Digitizer FAQ says. “This includes, but is not limited to, architects, designers, creative hobbyists, educators, and artists.” What MakerBot isn’t flat out saying though is that this is one expensive toy. The Digitizer starts at $1,400 with an extra $150 for MakerCare, totaling $1,550. Considering the Replicator 2 goes for $2,200, and the Replicator 2X will cost you $2,800, 3D printing proves to be an expensive hobby. We imagine the price tags for 3D printers and scanners will go down over the next few years, but for now, you might want to start saving up.
According to MakerBot, not everything will scan well, such as objects that have shiny, reflective, or fuzzy surfaces. Also, things that are dark in color absorb the laser line, and also have a hard time scanning well.
It’s only a matter of time before we have a 3D MFP that scans, prints, and faxes. Just kidding on that last one there. Check out the video below to see MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis put the Digitizer to work.
(VIDEO-AT-LINK)
cool, add that to a 3d printer and you have a replicator
Is there one big enough to make copies of Ted Cruz and Sarah Palin??
Nully,
Ping.
Bookmark
You can make a baby and raise one.
but that’s icky
Let the machine do it.
//sarcasm
Political power grows out of the nozzle of a 3-D Printer.
Thank you Jet Jaguar, for the heads up.
It is all relative, those machines used to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and out of reach of individuals. Now it is just an expensive hobby.
Will appeal to those who pi#sed$$ off same amount$ for flat screen TVs.
I was considering this scanner but the resolution makes it a tool for artists more than engineers ( +/- 2.0mm ).
And it is a relative underperformer in the industry because it has a fairly narrow core-- medical devices.
Look at Blender before committing - Blender is $free and has lots of tutorials, features, plus support for numerous file formats.
I wish this scanner had a larger scan area - maybe 18" and allowed splicing scans together...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.