Which 3D Scanner is Recommended for My 3D Printer?
Just about any 3D scanner can be used with any 3D printer. The reason for this is that all 3D scanners have the ability to export the final scans in the STL file format. This is the exact same file format as the standard used for 3D printing. Files from any 3D scanner should be able to be imported into any slicer software to prepare them for 3D printing.
So it really comes down to what kind of scanning capabilities you need and what your budget is. We currently have two options available at 3D Universe. The Matter and Form v2 is a turn-table scanner, good for scanning objects up to 9.8 inches tall with up to 7 inch diameter. The Creality CR-SCAN 01 can be operated either in turn-table mode or as a handheld scanner, which offers greater flexibility. But the Creality scanner software is currently Windows only, and you need a fairly powerful computer to run it properly.
Another option is something called photogrammetry. Using a smartphone, you capture images of your object from many different directions. Then the software pieces those images together to create the 3D model. There's a $5 app for iPhone users called Trnio that has rather impressive capabilities.
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