123D Catch: 3D Scanning

Transcription

1 123D Catch: 3D Scanning Stages Synopsis: 3D scanning and printing is becoming much more accessible and affordable to artists and designers alike. Today s workshop will demonstrate some of the free and (relatively) easy to use tools that allow us to scan an object and make a 3d printed replica of it. Using 123d Catch (free software / free app) we will demonstrate how to 3d scan a sculptural art work, we will then use Meshmixer and Netfabb (free software) to clean up the scan and get it ready for 3d printing. 1. Introduction to software applications 2. Scanning tips and tricks 3. 3D Scanning with 123D Catch 4. Cleaning up our scans with Meshmixer 5. Preparing our scans for 3D printing with Netfabb Resources 123d Catch: Meshmixer: Netfabb: Downloads 123d Catch: Meshmixer: Netfabb:

2 123d Catch 123d Catch is part of the 123d App suite produced by software company Autodesk. 123d Catch uses a process called photogrammetry to stitch together photographic images and create a 3d digital model. They have a native PC version of the app that seems to work best. They also have browser versions for Mac and PC that use Web GL to operate. You can also download a free app for the ipad or the iphone 4S and greater. The models 123 d Catch creates can be really detailed and accurate but there are a few things to bear in mind. 1. You don t need a really high res camera shooting at lowest jpg setting is fine, and will speed up the processing later on. 2. Auto focus on the subject, blurry images will make for a bad scan. 3. Plan to a minimum of images of the subject, is better (the iphone / ipad app limits you to 40 photos so make them count!). Rotate around the subject trying to get images from above and below. 4. You need to create an account with Autodesk and sign in. 5. When you process the scan on your PC 123d Catch will upload the photos to the internet and download the mesh. If you can use an Ethernet connection to the internet you will speed up processing time significantly.

3 6. This demo uses screenshots from the PC software version the browser based version on Mac and PC are slightly different but the concepts are the same. 7. When your catch is complete it will look something like this. 8. Save your file.

4 9. Orientate your model using rotate tools and zoom in to see if your capture was successful. 10. Zoom back out, and view the model from above. 11. Use the marquee tool and delete command in 123d Catch to get rid of extraneous information once the scan has completed. 12. Working from above and at a distance is good to begin with, but then rotate around the model and zoom in to delete details closer to the model. 13. This shows a model with the background area removed. We will delete the pedestal later in Netfabb.

5 14. You can preview the quality of the mesh by selecting to view is as wireframe only. Or with both wireframe and photo textures combined. You can see how we have lost some details in the transformation to a 3D mesh. We will fix some of these problems in Meshmixer. 15. You might save as so that you preserve the original scanned file and backup the edited version. 16. Finally, export your mesh as an.obj file. The.obj file is roughly the 3D equivalent of the.jpg It s ubiquitous among 3D modeling applications and most software can open it or convert it for opening. 17. We will import this.obj into another program - called Meshmixer for further processing and cleanup

6 Meshmixer Meshmixer is a free piece of software also produced by Autodesk. It is designed specifically for making digital 3d models printable. 1. Import your.obj that you produced in 123d Catch.

7 2. Run the Inspector tool to close up any holes and make a watertight mesh. Click the red, magenta and blue globes one at a time so that your computer does not crash. 3. Save your file periodically to hedge losing your work in a crash situation. 4. Use the smooth, decimate and flatten tools to make your model easier to print and cleanup any defects

8 5. Export your file as an.stl Netfabb Netfabb is a commercial software application that engineers and industrial designers use to prepare their files for 3d printing. Netfabb is used to repair meshes and fix problems Meshmixer cannot. Netfabb is also a good tool for making the plane cut, and for scaling your model with precision. 1. Import your.stl file. 2. Move to origin. You ll repeat this each time you make a significant edit.

9 3. Run the repair script as needed. 4. Align your model to square it with the platform. This will make the plane cut operation easier. 5. Plane cut your model to create a flat surface to sit on the printed build platform.

10 6. Scale the model. It s useful to have a measuring tool handy. Remember the bigger your model the longer it will take to print. 7. Export your mesh as an.stl file. It might be useful to give it a different file name so that you save your work sequentially. i.e. sculpture_netfabb.stl

11 8. Now you are ready to load your model into a slicing program like Makerbot s Makerware (pictured above), Slic3r, KiSSlicer etc Websites / Resources Tinkercad Thingiverse OpenSCAD Model Builder for Processing MakerWare: Msshlab: Meshmixer Tutorials: Meshlab Tutorials: RepRap: Also Make Magazine did a special on 3D Printing last year you can get a free pdf by submitting your for their list Make is a great resource too printer- guide/ Contact For more information or further tips and tricks me at tom@learn3dprinting.co or follow me on and check out my website