Comment on Is it possible to 3D scan a motorcycle helmet and make smaller replicas?
squaresinger@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
The scan is the easy part. The easiest option is photogrammetry (here are phone apps for that), but it’s also quite bad in terms of quality.
Some iPhone models have special hardware in there that allow for better 3D scanning (they originally added it for face unlock), which is probably your best cheap option.
You can also get a professional 3D scan, they aren’t that expensive. I’d guess it should be doable with <€100.
The real problem is reproducing this. Most 3D printing technologies only allow for a single color or maybe 4-8 colors at max, with no color mixing.
The only technology that comes to mind that can do full color 3D printing and is somewhat widely available is MJF, but that technology is firmly professional-grade only, and even small prints are really expensive. Also, depending on how small the prints will be scaled to, the resolution of the color texture and the finish of the final print might not be satisfactory.
All MJF prints I have seen so far had a low-saturation fuzzy look to the printed colors.
Bebopalouie@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
Thank you. Will pass it on. (Excuse my ignorance in advance not knowing exact terms) I think the best way would be to copy original helmet and scale down, make more copies to cover all the 1st responders. Do a photo scan of surface with signatures etc and wrap it on helmets. Best of both worlds. Not that I know what I am doing. I am sure we will figure it out.
squaresinger@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Doing a single colour print and then copy paint onto it sounds really hard. I wouldn’t even know which process to use for that.
Bebopalouie@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
Not paint. Scan the whole outside of helmet, print it on a wrap and wrap around the helmet is the idea.
squaresinger@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Yeah, that’s what I mean. I wouldn’t even know how to get a wrap onto a complex 3D print.