New Promising 3D Scanner Announced by Matter & Form

For almost as many years as this blog has existed, I have been interested in the promise of 3D scanning for a variety of reasons.  The first scanner that I owned was the 1st generation Cubify scanner from 3D Systems.  

We actually got a lot of use out of that scanner in our work with at-risk young people at YouthQuest Foundation in combination with our full-color Z450 powder printer.  In fact, we were able to scan dozens of cadets and produce 3D prints.  While not the highest resolution color scanner, it was something our cadets and their families really appreciated.

Over the years we added the 2nd generation Cubify 3D Scanner, the xyzPrinting 3D scanner,  the Einscan from Shining 3D and a few scanners based on the Intel Sense.  But, one of our favorites for scanning objects was the Matter and Form tabletop scanner.  It was, and remains, the easiest scanner for our students to use and we relied on it to teach the concepts of using 3D scanning for historical preservation and sharing of rare artifacts.  It's a great scanner for the classroom.

It was the Matter and Form scanner, along with our cooperative work with the students of iTech Preparatory school in Vancouver, Washington that convinced me that having students cooperate with local historical sites by scanning the site's artifacts would be a wonderful addition to a school's educational program.

 

 

Now, Matter and Form has introduced a new scanner that promises to be a breakthrough product toward making this a reality.

MATTER AND FORM THREE 3D SCANNER

The first thing to note about this new scanner is that it does NOT require a computer with a heavy duty GPU processor.  Note that it can be used with ANY computer or tablet.

THREE 3D Scanner using a Tablet

The reason for this remarkable capability is that the software is integrated into the THREE 3D scanner and interfaces with any computer via a browser using edge technology.  As far as I know, this is a first in the industry.  Moreover, Matter and Form indicates that an API will make controlling the scanning process available to end-users for those that wish to customize the capture process. 

The new scanner includes a 13 mp Sony sensor (or sensors?) and a white-light DLP with something they call ChromaSpec™ technology capturing geometry in full color.   They promise "metrology-level resolution."  The only scanners I know that have made that claim were well out of reach financially for most of us.  But, while Matter and Form does not yet specify a price, they do claim all this power will come as "and unmatched value" and based on the price-performance of their existing 3D scanner I expect that they are not exaggerating.  

Apparently, they will be introducing the new scanner through a Kickstarter campaign at a 50% one-time discount.

In the meantime, they will be releasing new announcements via email to those who sign up to keep informed.  You can sign up at MatterAndForm.com.

I know and trust this company from the many years they supported our work at YouthQuest.  And, I am VERY excited to learn more about this new product that offers so much promise.  As I learn more I will keep you posted.