From Novice to Expert: A Novice's Journey with Revopoint INSPIRE

[Revopoint-Fay]

Hello, I’m Dragon, I just graduated from college this year and joined Revopoint in August, Cassie came up with the awesome idea that I could put myself in the shoes of a new user who has never used a scanner before, and experienced our newest product from that perspective, and learn how to solve problems when a new user might encounter them during the scanning process. That’s why I created this topic to record the whole process from the beginning of my first contact with the scanner to now. I hope our new users can learn my lessons from this posting, and I also welcome many professional users in the forum such as @PUTV who can give me certain guidance suggestions.

Date: September 28th, 2023, First scanning

Since we just released the INSPIRE, I chose it to have a try.

Get your INSPIRE:

Global：Revopoint INSPIRE - Cost-effective 3D Scanner for 3D Printing
US: Revopoint INSPIRE - Cost-effective 3D Scanner for 3D Printing

1. Start scanning when ready

Attention:

① We need to go to the official website to download the latest software first. Download Link: Best 3D Scanning Software-Revo Scan 5

② Please read the manual.

Considering that there are some users who may be like me, who are so excited to get the scanner and can’t wait to try scanning that they ignore the manual, I also purposely didn’t look at the manual carefully before I started my first scanning attempt. (I’d like to strongly recommend reading the manual or YouTube tutorials here)

2. scanning process

（1）My first scan was rather rough and I didn’t really understand the parameters or anything else. So without adjusting any parameters, I just selected the software’s defaults for scanning. (I’d recommend reading the manual first）

(2)Click “Fusion” when the scan is complete.

（3）I need to remove these unnecessary things and I perform the following process.

(4)Then I followed the steps to get the process going.

P.S. Smoothing and Simplify also click (Parameters are selected by default).

（5）This photo is my finalized work and it’s looking pretty good.

Question: this is my first time finishing my scanning experience, and I found some questions about this scanning. I found I couldn’t scan the model’s eyes very well. As you can see, the detail of the model’s eyes didn’t catch. On the next scan, I started needing to capture the model’s eye details.

So I went to ask my colleagues who are experienced in scanning. They told me that for better eye detail, you can select “Point Distance (mm)” as the minimum and “Mesh Quality” as the maximum during data processing.

I started scanning again based on a coworker’s instructions.

3. Improvement

4. Fusion: Select Advanced for Fusion Method and Minimum for Point Distance (mm)

2. Isolation, Overlapping, Smoothing, and Simplify also click(Parameters are selected by default). Plus I cut off the excess.

(3) Select"Mesh Quality" Maximum.

(4)Final result: Great! After I re-scanned, I chose Minimum Point Distance and Maximum Mesh Quality. This move worked and I really scanned the eye detail.

Summary: This scan taught me that when you want more detail, the Point Distance needs to be smaller and the Mesh Quality needs to be increased to get better results.

[PUTV]

Welcome Dragon !

Well done well done !

[Rilot]

Welcome Dragon. I think we actually spoke via PM about one of my Inspire showcase scans.
You’re doing good there. That’s a nice scan of the bust.

[X3msnake]

Welcome Master @Revopoint-Fay

You can even get better resolution by:

• Making sure the scan distance bar is generally closest to excellent or too near as long as excelent is more than 2/3 of the bar scale.

• Reducing the minimum/maximum capture range (scanning distance) to just what you need to capture by increasing the near untill it starts clipping and reducing the far untill it does the same then backing off a safe amount. Just preview the full rotation of the turntable to make sure you are not clipping the model at any time

[GeoAir_3D]

@Revopoint-Fay

YouTube tutorials here

Thank you @Revopoint-Fay and @X3msnake for your advices, since the Inspire will be my first 3d scan and I’m a newbie regarding 3d scanning!

[Revopoint-Fay]

@X3msnake

You can even get better resolution by:

• Making sure the scan distance bar is generally closest to excellent or too near as long as excelent is more than 2/3 of the bar scale.
• Reducing the minimum/maximum capture range (scanning distance) to just what you need to capture by increasing the near untill it starts clipping and reducing the far untill it does the same then backing off a safe amount. Just preview the full rotation of the turntable to make sure you are not clipping the model at any time

Thank you for your advice, it is useful.

[Revopoint-Jane]

Well done Dragon!!! useful share!

[Revopoint-Fay]

From Novice to Expert: A Novice’s Journey with Revopoint INSPIRE Two

Hi everyone, this is my second scanning post! Just since the last time I posted this, my coworkers, knowing that I am posting this post, suggested that I provide the computer version and software version to make it easier to give users a reference. After this, I will post the version number of the computer I used, the software version and the size of the item.

My computer version: HP ZHAN 66 Pro 14 inch G5 Notebook PC

Software version: 5.3.1

the size of the item: 10cm*10cm

First scan

This time I didn’t use a turntable, I used a glass as my turntable (this way I can control the speed, if you guys think you have a better idea, please do let me know)

1. Pre-scanning parameter settings

After the last scan, I thought I needed to continue learning how to scan. So I asked my coworkers and learned some pre-scan parameter settings.

（1）Exposure in Depth Camera： The color blue appears in the depth camera for underexposure; and red for overexposure. So I need to adjust the exposure value. Ideally, the depth camera should have no color. But when the depth camera shows a little bit of red or a little bit of blue, you can actually start scanning.

（2）RGB Camera: Exposure in an RGB Camera is the brightness adjustment, Too high a value is easy to overexpose, and too low a value is easy to underexpose, Therefore, my colleague suggested that I should just choose the middle value, not too high or too low, but I still need to adjust it myself according to the actual situation.

（3）AWB: AWB means White Balance, a low value means cooler tones and a high value means warmer tones, in general, you can choose the default value. But when we need a warm color, we can adjust it manually.

So as you can see in the image, when I turned off auto exposure in Depth Camera and then chose a value of 1, the depth camera only shows a little bit of red, which means it’s okay to scan.

Note items of darker shade will require a higher exposure setting

Exposure in RGB Camera: Cancel auto exposure and I chose a value between 50-60; AWB I chose to middle value.

2. Starting scanning

In the beginning, the color was pretty good.

Put the pumpkin down and scan it again ((Note: I need to get the scanner to recognize the area that was scanned already to identify features for auto alignment recognition, if the scanner scans two completely different parts, the scanner will not recognize them)

Scan result: I don’t think the colors are to my liking.

Problem: The first scan turned out to be very dark and I wasn’t very happy with the color, so I went to ask my colleague and she said I need to adjust the white balance a bit because the pumpkin is yellow (which is a warm color).

Solution: I need to adjust the AWB up a bit so that the pumpkins show up a bit brighter.

Second scanning

（1）Start scanning: colors look fine for now!

（2）Results after scanning is complete: overall looks good.

（3）Point Cloud Edit for Processing： Point Distance I didn’t choose the smallest because I can tolerate detail reduction a little bit.

“Isolation” selects the default value；

I didn’t click “Smooth” this time. I was told by tech support that this function can smooth out the details to some extent, so I didn’t use it here;

“Simplify” selects the default value.

（4）Mesh Edit of Processing

Mesh Quality selects maximum (because I want the best quality)

“Isolation” selects the default value;

Click on “Fill Holes” to repair the holes;

I did not click on the “Smooth”;

“Simplify” selects the default value.

Finally, I clicked on “Texture”, and then you can see the final result.

I was very happy with the end result! The color I like very much! The spots scanned in as well.

Summary: Parameter settings before scanning

（1）Depth Camera Auto Exposure: To put it simply, when you see blue in the Depth Camera, it means underexposed, and if you see red, it’s overexposed. Ideally, the Depth Camera should have no color, but a smidge of red or blue is okay for scanning to begin.

（2）RGB Camera: In an RGB camera, adjusting “Exposure” means the brightness level. If you crank it up too high, your image might get overexposed leading to inaccurate color capturing. My colleague recommended going for the middle value, but we might still need to fine-tune it depending on the situation.

（3）AWB (Auto White Balance): AWB, or White Balance. A low value gives you cooler tones, while a high value warms things up. Usually, you can use the default setting. And when you’re scanning vibrant, colorful items, don’t forget to turn up the AWB a little bit before you start scanning.

[Revopoint-Fay]

Hello everyone, I’m really sorry for the delay. I’ve been busy with the launch of MIRACO recently, and haven’t had a chance to update the scanning posts. Starting from this week, everything will be back to normal!

This is my third scanning post, and this time I wanted to challenge myself, so I decided to scan a larger object which is Whale.

My computer version: HP ZHAN 66 Pro 14 inch G5 Notebook PC

Software version: 5.3.1

the size of item: 77cm*28cm

This time I used a large turntable for this scan because the whale I was scanning is quite large.

1. Pre-scan Settings

1. Turn off automatic exposure：According to the scanning knowledge I learned from the last session, adjust the exposure to have a little blue and a little red. However, in this scan, there’s a significant color difference between the front and back of the whale, so exposure selection needs to be more proper so that you can get the better result.

2. Exposure of RGB Camera: Because this time, I went to the company’s photography studio for the scan, and the lighting there is better. Therefore, I need to lower the exposure to ensure a better scan result. I’ve adjusted the exposure value to 28.

3. AWB of RGB Camera: Blue and white belong to the cool color spectrum, so I adjusted the white balance a bit lower.

new information: Last night, I consulted with my colleague again and learned a new parameter setting, which is “Hide Surfaces”.

4. Hide Surfaces: Because sometimes we place objects on a table (or other flat surfaces) for scanning, which can have some impact on our scans. So, if you want to scan only the target object, excluding the flat surface, you can choose this feature.

5. Surface Filtering Ratio of hide Surfaces: This feature mainly refers to the flat surface area you want to eliminate.

6. Scanning Distance of hide Surfaces: - it refers to scanning capture distance. If you place object 300mm from the scanner and wall behind the object is 450mm away you can set the scanning distance to 400mm to avoid scanning the wall.

Scan completed

Point Distance (mm): Smaller point distance value will allow for finer detail display - if the point distance is inscreased you will loose quality of the 3D model when it has many features. Something like a car body panel does not require very small point distance value. This whale object has features so I go for lower point distance value.

TIPS: There might be many users wondering how to scan large objects. Here’s a little tip: you can start scanning from the top of the object. Once the top is fully scanned, slowly move towards the middle section until the scan is complete. If you’re not using a turntable, you’ll need to rotate around the object as you scan.

Processing of Point Cloud Edit

The processing here is all done with default values. But I didn’t choose the ‘smooth’ function because I don’t want the details to be smoothed out.

Processing of Mesh Edit

I choose the best quality of Mesh

Here, I noticed there are areas that haven’t been scanned. When the holes that need to be filled are too large, the quality of hole filling won’t give you an ideal result. So, I went back and clicked “Continue Scanning”.

After"Continue Sscanning" is completed, you need to repeat the steps mentioned above, so I’ll omit listing them here.

The final result-Mesh

The overall result looks good, and I’m quite satisfied.

[X3msnake]

Lovely, now you need to learn to use a software like meshmixer or upload the model to sketchfab in order to showcase properly the mesh, since revoscan shiny smooth shader does a poor job at showing the real quality of your scan skills

[Revopoint-Fay]

Yes, I feel I need to learn more. Thank you for your advice.

[Revopoint-Fay]

This is my fourth scanning post. My colleague mentioned that it’s easy to lose track of the dinosaur’s neck, making it challenging to scan. So, I decided to give it a try.

This was the most frustrating experience I encountered during my scanning attempts. But fortunately, I was able to resolve each issue one by one.

My computer version: HP ZHAN 66 Pro 14 inch G5 Notebook PC

Software version: 5.3.3

the size of item: 28cm10cm15cm

First Scan：

Scan failed, the dinosaur has two heads and two tails. Because there are relatively few features on the dinosaur’s neck and tail.

Solution: Add features below the dinosaur’s neck and tail.

Second Scan

Another problem has emerged – I am unable to scan the dinosaur’s belly.

So, I went on to find a solution: I elevated the dinosaur, allowing the scanner to capture its belly. (I found a transparent cup to elevate the dinosaur. Also the dinosaur has good balance.)

Third Scan

1. Pre-scan Settings

1. Turn off automatic exposure：You need to adjust “Exposure” based on the scanned object. Adjust the “Exposure” until there is no large area of red or blue appearing.

2. Exposure and AWB of RGB Camera: The RGB camera has a significant impact on color scanning, so you need to adjust relevant parameters before scanning. You can adjust the exposure and white balance of the RGB camera while observing the preview window to see if the colors are close to reality and if the overall tone is what you want.

3. Color Scanning: If you need color scanning, you need to enable color scanning in the scan settings.

Here’s a scanning tip, especially for challenging objects:

1. Plan your scanning path before scanning the object. Determine how you will scan the object when you see it.

• The overall scanning path for the object generally follows a spiral pattern (spiraling up or spiraling down). For example, if I choose to spiral up pattern, I would start by scanning the body, tail, and feet of the dinosaur (ensuring to scan the dinosaur’s belly). Simultaneously capture some data from the head, then slowly move the scanning lens upward to capture the details of the head.

• Start scanning from areas of the object with more geometric features. For instance, when scanning a small dinosaur, some users might start with the head and neck, which can lead to tracking loss. The correct method is to begin with areas that have more geometric features.

• Initially, scan the overall outline of the object and then focus on scanning details. For example, if I notice missing scans in the neck of the dinosaur, I shouldn’t rush to scan the neck details. Instead, scan the overall framework of the dinosaur first and then gradually move the scanning lens to the dinosaur’s neck (this way, you can supplement details without losing tracking).

2.Scan completed

Because I didn’t want to wait too long and I was ok with losing some detail. So I chose the “Standard” Fusion and the “Point Distance” of 0.3mm.

3.Processing of Point Cloud Edit

The latest version of Revo Scan 5 comes with many new features, and I encourage all of you to give them a try.

Here I need to give a special introduction to the use of “Select Through”

If you need to use the “Select Through” feature, you should use it in conjunction with the “Rectangular Selection” feature. Like this:

Please note: I did not use the “Smooth” and “Simplify” functions here. Although these functions can remove some noise, they may also blur the details of the model. If you are pursuing details, you can choose not to use these two functions.

4. Mesh Edit processing

5.The final result-Mesh

As seen in the above images, I think the overall effect is decent. However, there are some areas that I am not very satisfied with. First, the color effect on the neck of the dinosaur is not very good, which is related to the lighting conditions during my scan. Second, the tail and belly of the dinosaur were not scanned sufficiently during the scanning process.

I plan to try scanning in a place with more evenly distributed lighting and see if the results are better.

I scanned in a location with better lighting, and the results are quite evident.

6. Retry

Configure the parameters as before scanning.

（1）The scan results are as follows after completion.

（2）Mesh Edit processing

The relevant parameter settings are the same as those in the previous configuration.

（3）Texture Result

To be honest, I am really satisfied with this result. The only drawback is that my RGB camera is slightly overexposed, but compared to the previous scanning attempts, I am very pleased.

（4）Summary

I gained a profound insight from this scanning experience:

If you are using color scanning, be sure to set parameters suitable for an RGB camera in advance. Open the “Color Scan” settings, check the exposure and white balance of the RGB camera to ensure they are in the appropriate positions. Verify these settings in the preview window. As evident from my scanning results this time, you can observe a significant difference between the results of the first and second scans.