3D-Printed 3D Scanner Made To Work With Your Phone

An Arduino-based 3D scanner was created by an industrious 3D printing enthusiast and released open source this week for all to enjoy. This open source project was made to take out the most time-consuming component of the 3D scan process, giving said process instead to an Android phone combined with 3D-printed parts, a cheap motor, and an Arduino. This is not the first time such a system has been attempted, but it does appear to be the most complete and ready-to-roll system to date.

The project we're looking at today comes from creator QLRO, hosting said project on Thingiverse as of this week. You'll see this project in action in the YouTube video below – minimalism for the win!

The beauty of this project is its simplicity. It utilizes an Android phone which the user probably already has in their pocket, an Arduino (which will cost around $25 USD,) as well as a few other parts. In all, you'll need:

Hardware Portion Requirements:

• 28BYJ-48 stepper motor

• ULN2003 motor driver board

• Adruino

• Android Phone

• Computer (Windows or Linux)

• Light source (so your photos aren't dim)

• Internet access (Wi-Fi)

• The ability to 3D print some plastic

Software Requirements:

• Python

• IDE (VSCodium or Notepad++)

• Meshroom (Photogrammetry software, photo stitching to create 3D files)

• Arduino IDE

• QPython for Android phone

This will take a little bit of work, but it'll likely be a lot less expensive and time consuming than some of the fully pre-made alternatives. If you're looking for something lower-tech, there's also the non-motorized route.

You could also take a look at the efforts of one Bribro12. This creator made the slightly easier-to-make hand-crank turntable, fully 3D printed, hosted on Thingiverse, and available for free for all. This same creator has a 3D scanner with Arduino and a few more advanced controls – that's probably the place you'll wanna go next, if everything else is good, but you want to take things up a notch.