3D Scanning Tips
Scandy Pro Scanning Tips
First things first: download Scandy Pro! Now you are ready to go.
3D scanning is tougher than 2D photography. It will require patience and practice. Once you get good, you'll end up with great results. You'll be able to create great 3D content from your phone and jump start any 3D printing or 3D design projects. So don't get frustrated. Keep on trying. Only save the ones you are happy with.
One thing to note (and yes - we get this question a lot): NO - you cannot scan with the world-facing camera. All of our apps (Scandy Pro, Cappy AR and STLMaker) use the TrueDepth sensor to create 3D scans. That sensor is only found on the user-facing camera, so you will have to point the screen at the object to capture a scan. You can either angle the screen so you can see the scanning happen. Scandy Pro users can select the 'Networking' option in 'Advanced Preferences' and mirror the screen to another iOS device by tapping the wifi icon from the scanning screen on both devices.
Here are a few tips to get you started:
1) Move the phone SLOWLY. Speed is not your friend, here. Moving the phone too quickly will cause the sensor to lose tracking. If you note the scan image orientation moving (e.g. from vertical to horizontal), you have lost tracking and the scan probably can't be recovered. Just start over.
2) When scanning a person, make sure you tell them to be still. A 360 degree scan could take up to a minute. Ask your subject to focus on a spot in front of them to keep their head still.
3) A smaller bounding box can result in higher-quality scan. Use the slider to adjust the bounding box. The default is the smallest size box. Only go as large as you need to.
4) Features are your friend. Monochrome subjects without a lot of detail in them will be hard for the camera to track on. Cylinders can be especially tricky. When scanning a face, keeping the shoulders in the frame will help maintain tracking when scanning the back of the head (that generally has fewer visual features than a face).
5) Some materials just don't scan well. Highly reflective or transparent materials generally don't make great 3D scanning subjects with the technology we use. Spraying a light coating of foot powder on those surfaces can help the camera resolve them.
6) If you are having a hard time capturing a full 360 degree scan without losing tracking, you can make 2 smaller scans and manually stitch them together using software programs like Netfabb or MeshMixer.
7) Lighting matters. The lighting you might want for a 2D photograph (dramatic lighting with highlights and shadows) may not work well for the 3D scan you are trying to capture. Generally the best 3D scans are captured with evenly lit subjects from a diffuse light source. Experiment and see what works best for you!
If you'd like to see these tips in action, please visit [this video](https://youtu.be/3CmG8sonANw "3d scanning tips video") on our YouTube channel.
Sweet! I can now create great scans, and I've saved a few. Now what??
You can upload them to Sketchfab or to Amazon Sumerian or other favorite 3D viewing or AR/VR app that accepts uploads. You can edit you scan or even merge multiple scans with 3D modeling software like MeshMixer.
We would be grateful if you'd share your awesome scans with the interwebs and tag us: @scandyco on Twitter or @scandy.co on Instagram.
Please drop us a line with feedback - either in the dms or hello@scandy.co. We'd love to hear from you how we can make Scandy better! If you've found a trick that helps make better scans, please share it with us and we'll post it here. Many thanks for your interest in Scandy.
Scan on,
Team Scandy
