Smoothed normals create a gradual transition in shading, making surfaces appear smooth and rounded, while faceted normals result in a flat appearance with sharp edges, giving the object a more geometric look.
I have scanned objects that have jagged edges (broken concrete, as one example), but meshing them at any setting results in rounded edges that are… not what I want.
Any chance of offering a switch between the two? Preferably with a threshold setting so the ‘sharper’ edges end up being… sharp while the gentler changes can be smoothed.
I wanted to provide some clarification regarding the normals on your 3D model. It is important to note that normals only impact the visual, shaded appearance of a model in your rendering software and do not change the underlying geometry. They essentially determine how the software calculates lighting across the mesh surface.
Because normals are purely visual, any changes made to them will not affect the original geometry when the model is printed, the physical output will still look like the original 3D model. To adjust the appearance in your viewport or rendering, you would need to use options such as Weighted Normals, Vertex Normal Maps, Edge Splitting (for sharp or smooth edges), or Auto Smooth functions. These can be tested in Blender or other 3D editing software.
While software like ZBrush offers options to sharpen actual edges on 3D models rather than just the normals, please keep in mind that applying this to the original scan will change the accuracy of the volume.
I am aware that the triangles are not being manipulated to approximate a smooth curve.
But I’m not going to be 3D printing most of the things I scan and I will occasionally want sharper edges depicted. Revopoint adding Edge Splitting, preferably with a threshold setting, seems like a way to go. Turning down the intensity of the algorithm that adds the apparent curvature while performing the mesh is another.