After playing with a 3D printer, make way for the 3D scanner!
And especially, the Ciclop DIY 3D scanner.
Why the Ciclop?
Well good for different reasons:
- It is among the cheapest of the 3D scanners
- It’s DIY, Do It Yourself, i.e. self-Assembly
- It is open-source
Things to know before buying the Ciclop
This is not directly a .stl at the end of the scan file, but a .ply file which is composed of point cloud. And this .ply file is to be converted to .stl, this requires treatment work.
In addition, according to some feedback that can be found on the net, the rendering of the detail is quite poor.
Buy the Ciclop 3D scanner or another 3D scanner?
According to my research, the other competitors apparently have such a poor rendering when they cost 3 to 5x more!!! So you might as well take the cheapest!
Besides, you have to be careful, I noticed that one of the well-known competitors and that is 3 times more expensive than the Ciclop only agrees to work with ONE processor model! So if your computer doesn’t have this particular processor model (and of course, you can’t find this info easily!), your scanner is no longer useful…
So personally, I don’t trust not renderings that the feedbacks that I have seen, they are too few. You should know that this rendering depends a lot on the settings, the brightness and the scanned room! Basically, it’s like a 3D printer, depending on the settings, you can have a nice piece, an average part or a heaping of molten wire!
In addition to the issue of rendering, there is the fact that it is open source. That is much easier to change anything on the device, that another model or nothing does filter parts, method, etc…
With the democratization of 3D printers, it would be interesting to also see the democratization of 3D scanners, however this is not yet the case. The democratization of 3D printers succeeded thanks to the work of Joseph Prusa who also made open source his work on 3D printer and also thanks to its community.
I personally have a few ideas in mind to improve the Ciclop once I get the minimum control, I still know nothing about what will make my change, or if they are going to make something, but I want to try! And who knows, if ever my improvements that there will be brought to inspire others and so on,… maybe see us the day of performing 3D scanners at low prices? In addition, who currently have a 3D printer, it easier me to create new pieces to improve the Ciclop.
But above all, I will first test the basic version of the 3D Ciclop scanner!
Features
- Scanner type: individual/Office
- Technology: Laser Triangulation
- Dimension (mm): 450 x 330 x 230mm
- Maximum size of modeling (mm): 250 x 205mm
- Modeling (mm) minimum size: 50 mm
- Weight (kg): 2.25 kg
- Accuracy (mm): 0.50
- Export format: ply
- Software: Horus
- Connectivity: USB Cable
- System compatibility: Windows, Linux, Mac
- Power supply: 12 V 1.5 A
The test
First thing to know is that the original model is the BQ Ciclop, but because it is open source, anyone can copy it. The tested model is a clone. This not is not because it is a Chinese clone, it will work, less well know this.
Second thing, it is that I have manual with the 3D scanner, so it took me searching the Internet, and I have to admit that good documentation that shows on the net is a bit scattered (with a lot of dead link) and we lose very easily in BQ, Horus, Ciclop Tre… For summary: BQ is the brand that has designed the model of scanner named Ciclop. Horus is the name for 2 things: it’s the firmware for the electronic card but also the name of the program used to use and adjust the 3D scanner!
Then, unlike a 3D printer, this 3D scanner is very easy to mount, I would say that in less than an hour, it’s already ready!
How to use it
Opportunity to get details on Instructables: http://www.instructables.com/id/Ciclop-3D-Scanner-BQ-Horus/
To download the program to use the scanner: http://storage.googleapis.com/bq-horus/releases/Horus_0.1.2.4.exe
The Horus: Horus guide to use V.0.1.2 – Horus_Guide_d utilisation_0-1475833279.1
Since the information is scattered everywhere, here is a booklet allowing you to understand and improve your scans: https://storage.googleapis.com/bqcom15.statics.bq.com/prod/resources/manual/Guide_pour_une_nume%CC%81risation_optimale-1475833389.pdf
The download area for more or less all the info you need: https://www.bq.com/en/support/ciclop/support-sheet
There is a section of the site of BQ that is dedicated to Ciclop, the Part DIWO, except that all the links are dead on this side …
In practical terms, what does it look like? Well I’m glad I first mounted a 3D printer, then only a 3D scanner! Mounting a 3D printer is more complicated than mounting a 3D scanner, but mastering the software of a 3D printer is much simpler than mastering a good scan!
Some hot tests:
After a few tries, this is much better!
Conclusion
The experience is very interesting and worth a visit! The building goes without worries, and calibration, but the scan requires a lot of settings to get a good settings, settings that will be necessary to change at each scan according to the brightness, the room, etc…
I will try to get the best possible rendering with the Ciclop without changing it and then I will try to make improvements where possible.
Link: https://www.gearbest.com/3d-printers-3d-printer-kits/pp_426876.html?lkid=11304296
And enjoy the promotion of the moment with the coupon code: OctAllezciclop