I thought I’d share a few of my tips of things I’ve learned while beta testing the MetroX. Some of these will be obvious, others maybe less so.
These tips mainly focus on the laser modes.
- Warm up - Let the scanner warm up for a few minutes before you start your scan. That will help with the accuracy.
- Hold it - Don’t try to do laser scans on the tripod. Hand hold the scanner and move the lasers over the object like you’re painting it with light
![[video-to-gif output image]](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/uploads/revopoint3d/original/3X/b/1/b1b6476d3345db4bb9b7f3b33cd77a205cc7ff8e.gif)
- Markers - Make sure you have enough markers around the object you want to scan to enable the scanner to track. Markers don’t need to be on the object itself but do need to be visible at all times to all angles
- Global marker mode is your friend - Doing a capture of the marker positions before you start your scan will aid in tracking as the scanner will already know the positions of markers that it can’t see due to be occluded by the object
- Laser power and exposure - Less is more. Don’t be tempted to crank up the laser power and exposure to the max. For most objects the default power and exposure of 1 is sufficient. Cranking it up too far will result in unnecessary noise or even blow out white areas
- Make use of black and reflective object modes - These modes are very helpful when scanning challenging objects. Try to scan in normal mode first though and move to those modes if the capture isn’t acceptable
- Green - When scanning, you need your capture window to be bright green over the entire object. Any areas that are orange denotes a lack of data. Focus on those areas until they are green
- Turn it up to 9000! - Approximately 9000 frames is a good amount for a good scan of a medium sized object (one that will fit on the turntable). Too few frames will result in inaccurate scan data
- Merge - Because we’re scanning with markers, repositioning the object mid scan isn’t going to fly. Take multiple scans and use the merge feature. There is one exception to this. If you ONLY have markers on the object and you use global marker mode to scan the markers before hand, you can reposition the object and keep going.
- Angles - Rotate the scanner between vertical and horizontal orientations to get the scanner in to crevices etc
- Edges - To capture the edges of the object it’s helpful to have the scanner horizontal as it has a taller field of view and will more easily capture markers.
- Rise up - Try to raise any object you want to scan off the platform it’s sitting on. This will reduce artifacts at the interface between the object and the platform.
- Marker targets - If you don’t have the marker targets from the advanced package, make some. There are tons of marker targets on Printables and MakerWorld for you to download and 3D print
- M button - In the Revoscan settings you can change what the M button does. You can choose between having it toggle laser power and exposure, or have it zoom the preview window. I find it helpful to have it as the toggle.
- You have control - Don’t be afraid to move the exposure up and down during a scan with the buttons on MetroX. If you find a section needs a different exposure, change it on the fly.
- Grunt - MetroX needs a ton of compute power to run. If you’re using a laptop; make sure it’s plugged in and using any high-performance modes it has available.
- Danger! - DO NOT PLUG METROX’S CABLE IN TO ANYTHING ELSE. You will send 12V straight in to whatever you plug in to and fry it. MetroX’s cable is ONLY for MetroX
- Patience - Finally, this is a new scanning mode and is different to that which you might be used to. Practice and don’t give up if you get a bad scan initially. You can get truly excellent scans with MetroX with a little practice.
