MakerBot Reveals Digitizer Desktop 3D Scanner, Yours For $1,400
How much would you pay for a desktop 3D scanner that let you recreate, via your 3D printer, anything that could fit on it small turntablet? MakerBot thinks you’ll be willing to cough up $1,400, plus another $150 for its MakerCare service and support program, to have a MakerBot Digitizer Desktop 3D Scanner on your desk.
For hobbyists, that might be stretching it too much, for makers and designers, it sounds like a bargain--at the end of the day, the machine only costs as much as a well-appointed laptop.
The Digitizer Desktop 3D Scanner works by using a camera and two lasers to capture a rotating object and creating a 3D file out of it using the included MakerWare software. It’s designed to be simple to use so that anyone can make hay with the thing; you can just connect it to a laptop or desktop computer and get going.
The device outputs to a number of 3D files, and they can be modified with third-party software such as Autodesk’s MeshMixer and uploaded to Thingiverse. It’s designed to work “seamlessly” with a MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer, but the Digitizer works with other 3D printers, as well.
You can scan items up to 8 inches in diameter and 8 inches tall that weigh up to 6.6 lbs. The Digitizer is now up for preorder on MakerBot’s website, and it’s expected to start shipping in mid October.
For hobbyists, that might be stretching it too much, for makers and designers, it sounds like a bargain--at the end of the day, the machine only costs as much as a well-appointed laptop.
The Digitizer Desktop 3D Scanner works by using a camera and two lasers to capture a rotating object and creating a 3D file out of it using the included MakerWare software. It’s designed to be simple to use so that anyone can make hay with the thing; you can just connect it to a laptop or desktop computer and get going.
The device outputs to a number of 3D files, and they can be modified with third-party software such as Autodesk’s MeshMixer and uploaded to Thingiverse. It’s designed to work “seamlessly” with a MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer, but the Digitizer works with other 3D printers, as well.
You can scan items up to 8 inches in diameter and 8 inches tall that weigh up to 6.6 lbs. The Digitizer is now up for preorder on MakerBot’s website, and it’s expected to start shipping in mid October.
