Thread: 3D scanner review.

If you have a later iPhone you have a LiDAR built in that does an amazingly good job.

Hello Tins,

Thank you for posting the review of the scanner. I was surprised by the comment that flat thin objects with holes in them caused the scanner to have issues with scan quality. My thoughts of getting a scanner were to be able to scan mechanical parts - most of these would be flat and relatively thin. Plus, they would have holes in them.

The idea being that the scanned image of say, a broken clamp on a wood lathe could be glued together and then scanned. The scanned image could then be 3D printed and the printed object could be used in either a lost wax mould, or pattern maker's sand mould. From which the cast metal or alloy replacement part could then be made and the machine subsequently repaired.

Of course there is a less technologically advanced solution that takes into account my lack of a digital milling machine. I could get a billet of steel and grind off excess material with an angle grinder. Plus drilling out holes of the slot in the clamp. I could finish the job with lots of hand filing. It is not a precision part so I do have some leeway for possible small inaccuracies.

I thought scanning - printing - casting would simply be lots more fun! Yes, this technique does not remove the need for finish filing.

For example, Lost Wax Casting and 3D Printing accessed 29th of January 2024 from, Basics of Lost Wax Casting with 3D Printing - KAYA-CAST - YouTube

Sand Casting and 3D printing accessed 29th of January 2024 from, Making a cast iron flywheel from a 3d print - YouTube - this clip is from Windy Hill Foundry and the bloke is an amazing artisan. My apologies that the 3D video is not Windy Hill's best video. There is normally less fast forwarding and better descriptions step-by-step of what he is actually doing at the time. It was the first video I found from his YouTube page that featured 3D printing.

Kind regards
Lionel