The purity of the 3d scanner’s grid to be used in printing in 3D printing directly affects the quality of the printed material. The industrial-grade equipment GOM ATOS Core uses blue laser technology (wavelength 460nm) to give 0.01mm point range accuracy, capture a grid of 5 million surfaces in one scan, have a hole rate as low as 0.03%, and surface roughness (Ra value) as optimized to 6.3μm. In 2023, Siemens Energy employed this equipment to inspect the chord (chord length 50mm) of gas turbine blades, shorten the post-processing time from 2 hours to 15 minutes, lower the rate of fracture of the printed support structure from 8% to 0.5%, and save 1.8 million euros in material costs annually.
Amongst consumer-level devices, Shining 3D’s EinScan HX stands out due to its 0.04mm resolution and AI noise reduction algorithm, capturing 20cm³ mechanical parts with only 0.06mm of grid noise and a 40% reduction in STL file volume compared to similar products. After one of the intelligent hardware companies in Shenzhen implemented the plan, the TWS headset shell printing efficiency with a 1.2mm wall thickness increased from 75% to 95%, and the unit price decreased by 12 yuan; annual profits increased by 3 million yuan. The basic Revopoint POP3 ($999) features a point cloud density of merely 0.2 points /mm², with an 18% possibility of a thin-walled grid breaking, requiring an additional 20% of manual repair time.
Complex surface adaptability is another significant index. Creaform HandySCAN 3D measures the reflective metal surface using 7 cross laser lines, and reduces noise by 75% for measuring the brake disc (diameter 380mm) compared with the structured light instrument, and the curvature continuity error of the mesh is limited to 0.02mm/m. Porsche has used this technology since, and the pass rate of wind resistance tests on brake system prints has increased from 82% to 98%, and the development cycle reduced by 60%. Conventional photogrammetry method in the identical scene caused by specular reflection bringing data loss ratio up to 30%, is not applicable for fulfilling the surface quality requirements of automotive industry ASME B46.1.
Environmental stability impacts grid stability. IP54 protective rating of Peopoly Forge and thermostatic calibration module control the scan drift to ±0.01mm/hour within 85% humidity and 50℃ workshop environment. In 2022, a Southeast Asian electronics factory delayed orders of 5 million yuan because its regular scanners were wet, and the equipment failure rate was lowered by 90% after using Forge. Compared with this, iPhone LiDAR error increases by 0.3mm in the environment above 35 ° C, which is only suitable for indoor small object scanning.
Industry case proofing economy: Trumpf combined the ATOS Q scanner with TruPrint 3000 printer, reduced the “scan-optimization-print” process time from 120 hours to 28 hours on the titanium alloy aviation bracket (weight 200g), and increased the fuel efficiency of one aircraft by 1.2%. Cost savings of €2.4 million per year in operating costs. Small and medium-sized enterprises utilize the EinScan SE ($3,000) together with Creality K1 printer ($4,000) to achieve 0.05mm accuracy closed-loop production of gear meshing surface (modulus 0.5) at 1/10 costs, and its payback is only 8 months.
According to the Wohlers Report 2024, 89% of all worldwide high-end manufacturers have incorporated 3d scanner for printing into their basic processes, and the medical dental sector demands the highest grid cleanliness criteria (hole rate ≤0.01%). iTero Element 5D from Align Technology scans crown edges with a 780nm laser (0.025mm accuracy), reducing the print fit error rate from 5% to 0.8% and reducing patient return visits by 43%. The information shows that the selection of clean grid equipment has to meet the accuracy level (±0.02mm), environmental conditions (temperature and humidity fluctuation ±10%), and budget ($3,000-200,000) in order to provide the maximum technical iteration dividend.