Laser 3D Scanner Uses Raspberry Pi

Meshes and Motors Digital visualization of 3D objects has become more prevalent in the modern age, with the rise of 3D printing. Learn how these Cornell undergraduates used a Raspberry Pi, a camera and a laser to make an accurate 3D scanner capable of producing digital meshes of physical objects. Topics Discussed How to capture 3D images using a laser and a Pi CameraHow to design circuitry to drive a stepper motorHow to use motor control to rotate an objectHow to integrate image processing with mesh creationHow to develop embedded software using Python Tech Used Raspberry Pi SBCPiCam — Raspberry Pi cameraAutodesk Fusion 360Stepper motor driver module (based on ST’s L298N)Epilog Zing 40W laser cutterRepetier 3D slicing softwareAn LED and metal pushbutton3D printer and raw material for laser cutting Our Laser Scanner project is a Raspberry Pi-based embedded system device that’s able to digitize objects into .obj mesh files for reproduction using 3D printing. The device does this by utilizing a line laser and the Pi Camera to perform computer vision. The laser is positioned 45 degrees askew from the laser, and projects a bright red line on one vertical slice of the object. The camera detects the slice’s distance from the center to give a mesh slice. The object is spun on a rotating tray, and the process is repeated until the full object is scanned. The generated .obj file is emailed to the user. The inspiration for this project came from our past experience with 3D printing and rapid prototyping. The ability to quickly scan existing objects can make them easy to reproduce, and facilitates designing other parts around them. The cost of these scanners is often quite expensive. With our background in computer graphics, embedded systems and mechanical design, we decided that this was a feasible and interesting project for our team to take on. The central component in this design is the line laser that projects upon a vertical sli