Capturing 3D digital replicas of objects and parts is hugely important in varied applications, from prototyping to reverse engineering discontinued components to develop new CAD files.

Industry-ready scanners with unparalleled accuracy can scan even extremely small objects from your desktop, including high-precision electronics, mechanical parts, resin modeling, jewelry, and even keys. This gives producers and engineers a way to create perfect digital models they can deploy in quality control, design processes, or manufacturing.

Options include dual laser and LED scanners that are adaptable and suited to a broad range of materials and specialist scanners engineered with the precision necessary for high-end jewelry design and restoration, to name just a few.

The precision of any 3D data capture will depend on the functionality and features built into your chosen desktop 3D scanner. However, with evolutions in the technologies incorporated into these devices, even entry-level products offer impressive capabilities. 

Depending on your requirements and applications, we can recommend highly advanced pro HD scanners and stock 3D scanning units from world-leading brands such as SCANTECH. These scanners have the accuracy to scan to sub 0.1 millimeters, while the standard is for most 3D scanners to operate to a tolerance of between 0.1 and 0.01 millimeters.

Premium desktop scanners equipped with high-resolution cameras can even deliver 3D accuracy to five microns for those requiring a fine level of detail and hyper-accurate scanning of components used in specific applications such as water and particle filtration.

Checking that your 3D scanner is compatible with your existing software stack may be essential, and you’ll find the specifications of each scanner within our detailed listings. As an overview, you might wish to choose between one of the following:

• A desktop scanner bundle with software included
• Standalone scanners utilizing third-party software
• CAD-compatible scanners that transfer collated data directly

Most scanners are ready to deploy and work with widely used PC operating systems such as Windows and Mac, although if you have any specific expectations, you are welcome to contact Digitize Designs for more detailed information and recommendations.

An innovative pro 3D scanner can scan and replicate almost any material, although entry-level scanners with a lower price point may be less suited to scanning textured and intricate objects or those with heavily matte or gloss surfaces, where glare and light shining back at less advanced cameras distorts the capture.

Metrology-grade scanners meet the most stringent accuracy benchmarks and provide reliable 3D scans in full color without any compromise on the detail of the geometry. Textile-specific models may be ideal for flexible 3D scanning applications, using projectors, AI tracking, and high-resolution cameras to capture data points such as rigidity.

Desktop 3D scanners bring the power of technological advancement into your workspace and can be used as a solution to reverse engineer a broad range of components and objects, including those subject to design adaptations or improvements, and where no preexisting 3D models are available.

A 3D scanner complete with an automatic turntable may be most suitable for smaller and medium-sized objects, with rapid scanning completed in minutes. Rendering complex shapes and larger items for reverse engineering is typically most efficient using a scanner with a free scan mode because this setting is more effective in capturing complex 3D data.