So, I bought a 3D-scanner. I needed one that works without a PC, and the only ones currently on the market seem to be the Revopoint Miraco Pro and the Shining3D Einstar Vega. There have been mixed reviews about the Miraco, and Revopoint apparently had a history of abandoning older models. Shining3D also makes professional-level scanners that cost as much as a car, so I banked on them putting some of that expertise into their consumer models and went with the Einstar.
Well, it works fantastic and so far does everything I bought it for…
BUT This thing is so closed off it makes Apple seem like a posterboy of the open-source movement. You cant even get any data off the device, unless you connect it to their proprietary “StarVision” PC-Software. It doesnt have a SD-Card and doesnt register as a mass storage device like most cameras do. When you connect with StarVision to the Vega, it asks you on device to login to your Shining3D account (and to connect to your WIFI beforehand). If you click “cancel”, it simply disconnects from your PC.
So, without an account and WIFI, the Vega is just a brick. At least all processing is offline, and it doesnt force my data into their cloud (so far).
I looked into it, but it covers a different use case. It’s based on photogrammetry. For reverse engineering, you always need at least one measurement to scale the mesh. Also, you cannot scan anything bigger than the enclosed space within the scanner.
The einstar actually measures depth, so I can get measurements even if I scan the object from just one side. It stitches the measured points together by overlapping features, so it theoretically can scan infinitely large objects.
A big reason why I wanted an All-in-one 3D scanner was because I want to reverse engineer objects I see “in the wild” and in museums. The staff there might not appreciate it when I put a ruler on their stuff.
Yeah, that’s fucked. With some serious reverse engineering and reimplementing, it sounds like it could be a pretty great product, but even if something like a FOSS implementation of the protocol StarVision uses or something like Valetudo but for the Vega existed, I wouldn’t feel right about patronizing a company that does that kind of shit.
Shining3D also makes professional-level scanners that cost as much as a car, so I banked on them putting some of that expertise into their consumer models and went with the Einstar.
Seems like you were correct.
Oh yeah, we have an old Shining3D scanner in our makerspace, and the amount of trouble that company has been…
