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3-D scanners will help you with 3-D printing

Timur Senguen
Reviewed.com / USA TODAY
3DSystems' Sense is a stand-alone 3D scanner that allows for faster 3D modeling. A different version called the iSense attached to an iPad.

Wide acceptance of 3-D printing is held back by several snags: price, fear of early-adoption regret and — perhaps most important — the difficulty of creating 3-D models on a computer. Photoshopping 2-D images is difficult enough, but 3-D modeling is totally inaccessible for a large portion of even the computer-literate crowd. For this reason, many 3-D printer manufacturers make pre-fabricated 3-D models easily available, allowing those not trained in CAD (computer-aided design) software to at least print cookie cutter objects.

But what if you want to make an action figure of yourself, or family members? Modeling people or faces is difficult even for professionals, and requires hours upon hours of an expert's time. The best way to sidestep this dilemma is to digitize the actual physical object you're attempting to replicate, and that's where 3-D scanners come in.

3DSystems showcased two 3-D scanners at CES 2014, the stand-alone "Sense," and the "iSense" which requires an iPad. Both scanners are similarly equipped with a camera and optical sensor array that are capable of identifying and digitizing surfaces. By moving around the object in question and collecting surface data from all angles, the accompanying software stitches together a high-resolution, full-color digital model of the object in real time. The process is surprisingly quick: A human head can be completely digitized in less than a minute.

After a little touch-up and, potentially, a few re-scans, the model is ready to be saved, sliced and printed. 3DSystems is aiming for a second-quarter release date and will be charging $399 for the stand-alone Sense and $499 for the much more compact iSense (iPad not included).

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