3D Digitizers

[GaryR52]

Just wondering if anyone is using a 3D digitizer for sculpture enlargments via CNC foam carving and, if so, what hardware you're using and how much it costs. I'm trying to find a digitizing solution that is reasonably priced for the individual user, but, all of the equipment I've seen, so far, is in the $30,000 and up range. This technology has been around for over a decade, so I figured the price of these tools had dropped more by now, but I guess not. :(

P.S.: Well, it seems there is a lower cost alternative to the high-end digitizers I found before: http://www.remtek.com/remtek/ourBEAT.htm
The Microscribe G2 is just under $4,000, which is probably as cheap as these things get, so far. Maybe someday..... :o

Gary

[mtd]

I have a microscribe that cost about $1500.
There's a good scanner (polhemus fast scan) but it's around $20,000.

also you might want to try a service bureau like Johnson atilier for scanning.
MD

[GaryR52]

Thanks. Did you buy your Microscribe used, or at a discount?

I read, recently, that Johnson Atelier has closed up shop. They were pretty expensive, anyway. If I want to use a traditional foundry for enlargement, there is one in my own area (http://www.thecruciblellc.com/default.asp?).

Gary

[Arrow]

Weta used the polhemus fast scan for Lord of the Rings. Non contact and great for human and clay scanning but does not do metallic objects. I use rhino 3 and downloaded some of the demo models from their site. Wish I could afford one.

And also:

http://www.mdrobotics.ca/ism/behind.htm

Instant Scene Modeler automatically generates 3D reconstructions of scenes, using a few hundred frames from a pair of ordinary video cameras. :)

Couldn't find info on when the instant Scene modeler will be on the market...if ever.

[GaryR52]

Well, I'm pretty sure I can wait to find out...and then wait a few more years after that, for the price to come down to somewhere near the value of my house. ;)

Gary

[mtd]

The company where I attend my day job (an animation studio) bought bothe pieces of equipment. The Microscribe was $1500 new a bunch of years ago. Keep in mind a digitizer captures curves that you then have to create surfaces from. I would think you want a scanner. I'll looka round but you may be able to find a some one near you to scan your work. What city are you near?
MD

[GaryR52]

Even the Microscribe is a bit out of my current budget and a scanner is out of the question. I'm near Oklahoma City.

Gary

[mtd]

try these guys, If they don actuall provide teh service maybe they can point you in the right direction. Also you could call Polhemus directly and ask if anyone in your area has purchased a scanner.
good luck,
MD

http://www.techok.com/pdf/TechInk%20Qtr%202.pdf

http://www.polhemus.com/

[GaryR52]

Thanks. That Perceptron thing looks kind of clunky. I wonder what it costs.

Gary

[Arrow]

http://www.leonardo-cad.co.uk/general/RP2.htm

Semi-low tech rapid prototyping process. Lots of manual hand work.

[GaryR52]

Yeah, that's pretty primitive, alright. Due to the crappy photography, I can barely see what they're doing or how it's done, let alone what material that thing uses. Is it paper or what?

Gary

[Arrow]

It's either paper of thin plastic, not sure.

Laminating foam slices cut on shopbot.
http://www.talkshopbot.com/messages/2/5321.html?1118063806

[GaryR52]

Thanks. I'll check this out. I gather this is useful for sculpture enlargement (what I was really looking for)?

Gary

[BMBourgoyne]

I've been working my way into the digital end of things for a little while now, and you might find my website interesting:
www.BourgoyneSTUDIO.com
go to the SERVICES link, and then to ARTISAN SERVICES. I personally have found that a blend of digital and manual techniques to be the most cost effective. It really depends on what you want to do. Prices on the technology has been coming down dramatically, but it is still out of the reach of most individual artists-- the market is just not big enough. I do offer digitizing and fabrication services to other artists- mainly to help pay for the equipment- at a realively low cost. I'd also be happy to advise you on low cost alternatives you can do yourself. But as with anything, expect to trade time for money.

good luck,
Brad

[GaryR52]

Thanks, I'll keep it in mind. If I ever use digital enlarging, it's going to be quite some time from now, unless I have a client who is footing the bill for it.

Gary

[Merlion]

For your information. This is a university news article about a US $1.5 million research into this new technology area, creating high resolution virtual replicas of Michelangelo's sculptures in Florence, like David and others. They may plan to make them openly available.

U Washington professor helping create digital replicas of Michelangelo's sculptures

An exhausted, yet exhilarated, Brian Curless recently returned from Florence, Italy, where he spent two months working as many as 20 hours a day on the first phase of an ambitious effort to create virtual replicas of Michelangelo's sculptures.

"It was much harder than we expected, but we've got data that will knock your socks off," says Curless, an assistant professor in the UW Department of Computer Science and Engineering. "We are able to get quarter-millimeter resolution, which is good enough to see Michelangelo's chisel marks clearly. It's an unbelievably faithful representation of the original."

The Digital Michelangelo Project, led by Curless' doctoral research advisor at Stanford University, Marc Levoy, aims to produce the first authoritative computer archive of the Renaissance master's sculptures.

The high-resolution, three-dimensional images will break new ground in computer graphics research and could help make Michelangelo's masterpieces available to art lovers and historians around the world.

The wonders of computer graphics technology would allow viewers to examine a sculpture from various perspectives, zoom in on details as small as chisel marks and change lighting conditions to see how they affect a statue's appearance. Computers might even be used to "virtually" restore damaged sculptures or speculatively complete unfinished works. [snip]

The full article can be found in http://www.uwnews.org/article.asp?articleID=3253

[GaryR52]

Thanks, Merlion. Very interesting. Maybe we'll be seeing Coca-Cola commercials with digital dancing Davids in the near future? ;)

Gary

[dirdim]

We provide a wide variety of 3D sculpture enlargement and reproduction services using several 3D laser scanners and digitizers. We've performed hundreds of projects including:
- museum objects (Matisse's, Degas,... at Met, MOMA, BMA, Hirshhorn,...)
- historical artifacts (bones, cunneiforms,...U Penn,...)
- cultural icons (Liberty Bell, Tomb of the Unknown, Lincoln Memorial,...)
- foundries (Tallix, Polich, Laran, A.R.T.,...)
- sculptors (Lazzarini, Johnson, Koons,...)
- galleries (Sonnebend,...)
- even collectors.

You can bring or send us the object, or we can come to your facility. We will scan and digitially model with high precision and resolution suitable for enlargement milling, rapid prototyping, visualizations, animations, renderings, etc. We also have a great 3D web-based viewing tool that you can load on your site.

Direct Dimensions, Inc.
See our website at www.directdimensions.com
Direct Dimensions, Inc. (http://www.dirdim.com/cs_sculpturearchitecture.htm)

[jphanes]

I don't know about all of that, but I do know that this site has treated me like shit! I just registered seversl hours ago and got not a welcome or nothing!
I just want to talk with other sculptors, chat about art and anyold thing, but I'm getting nothing! No response, no welcome, no feeling of " welcome, thanks for showing up". I feel like a pariah! I have as much to offer as anyone! Where's the love here?! Do you all have your heads so far up your asses you can't see anything new?

[GaryR52]

Well, I, for one, have just now received an email notice of your rather childish and abrasive post, so, that is my introduction to you. I must say, it didn't create a favorable first impression of you. Oh, by the way, welcome to the forums. It would do you well not to expect instantaneous feedback on a message board, as people will see your message when they see it and that, depending upon whether they are subscribed to this thread or not, as well as what they happen to be doing with their free time, could mean a response time of minutes or days. I have found most of the people here to be warm and friendly people, though. Give them a chance, for crying out loud.

Gary

[Duck]

Gary52,
Hi, I came across the $30k stuff too as I was googling around for MC Esher ( my favorite artist) and was amazed at what’s being done…a virtual tour of “House of Stairs”!!!.. I also stumbled onto Hash.com an animation software and I wondered if you or anyone else has had any experience with it, it looks cool and affordable 300 bucks

Can you imagine what somebody like MC Esher could have done with today’s technology,….pocket calculators were a big deal in the late 60’s/

duck




thanks :)

[GaryR52]

Hi, Duck. I remember Hash. It's an ancient program, by computer age standards. I tried a demo of it back in 1997 and it was already a few years old by then. There is so much better and more advanced 3D software out there, these days that I wouldn't even bother with Hash.

Gary

[Duck]

Wow, I had no idea…it may be best to slow down here and take a deep breath, just got through looking at this site http://www.cyberfx.com/

Thanks for the heads up!

duck...in the stone age :(

[Andrew Werby]

You might look at some of Roland Corporation's offerings. They've developed a piezo-electric touch-probe that gets excellent results on small detailed objects, as well as a line of reasonably-priced laser scanners for somewhat larger ones. The touch-probe scanners can be used in a machine which also has a milling function, like their MDX-40, so the same machine can scan and then produce a duplicate (or modified) model.

At a larger scale you might try a Microscribe, as has been suggested. These are good for picking up the general shapes of things, but won't capture finer textures without a lot of work. If you need that, there's a laser attachment you can get for them - see http://www.microscan-3d.com/ for a video of one in action.

I've got some of these alternatives described in more detail on my site:

www.computersculpture.com




Just wondering if anyone is using a 3D digitizer for sculpture enlargments via CNC foam carving and, if so, what hardware you're using and how much it costs. I'm trying to find a digitizing solution that is reasonably priced for the individual user, but, all of the equipment I've seen, so far, is in the $30,000 and up range. This technology has been around for over a decade, so I figured the price of these tools had dropped more by now, but I guess not. :(

P.S.: Well, it seems there is a lower cost alternative to the high-end digitizers I found before: http://www.remtek.com/remtek/ourBEAT.htm
The Microscribe G2 is just under $4,000, which is probably as cheap as these things get, so far. Maybe someday..... :o

Gary

[jonlash]

Well, I'm pretty sure I can wait to find out...and then wait a few more years after that, for the price to come down to somewhere near the value of my house. ;)

Gary

Gary, I work at the Digital Division @ Johnson Atelier. The scanners you are inquiring about vary greatly in both accuracy ( resolution) and performance.
Laser scanners over the past 10 years have been alot like computers. They keep getting better, the cost go down, but if you want better resolution the better scanners still cost in the $50,000 to $80,000 range. There are now a variety of smaller scanners that under $25,000 that may do the job for you. Or you can point up with a microscribe. All of this leads to... how much work do you want to do on the collected data, how important in the surface resolution, how will you output this data and in what format?

the costs for all of this can vary, if you are willing to work on the data and output it can be very affordable.


Good luck,

jon lash

[TMeeks]

You might be interested in the NextEngine scanner. It's under $2,500 and the support staff seems quite responsive to questions and their software seems to be steadily improving.


http://www.nextengine.com

Hope this is helpful.

Tom