How to reuse your targets while improving your scanner!
Written by François Leclerc
Sounds too good to be true, right? And yet, there is a way. Interested? Just read this…
Whether we like it or not, the targets are the most efficient means of achieving the complete accuracy of a handheld scanner and provide sufficient information to ensure the scanner will track the object from any position. There are ingenious ways to use them, especially with a Peel 3D scanner, but did you know that it is possible to make them reusable?
Over the years, we have seen tons of examples (good and bad) of people looking for ways to reuse their targets. Peeling them off the object's surface and putting them back on a temporary surface to reuse later is an excellent example of a lousy way to reuse targets. Peeling them from the surface makes it likely you will scratch, damage or, at least, deform the target. Although still potentially usable, it will impact the accuracy of the scanner.
The best way to make targets reusable is actually to mount them on accessories, ones that can be used over and over again. This is also a great way to use targets without placing them directly onto the object you are scanning. We have had customers putting them on simple plates or magnetic tape strips, but the best we have seen is using them on these little accessories we call turtles.
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These are designed to show only one or two targets at a time but always to create a unique pattern when using several scattered around the object. The turtles will be seen in the scan but are very easily removed from the session using the tools provided with Peel software. Since the targets are mounted on 45-degree surfaces at 120 degrees to each other, they can be observed from almost any position, improving the scanner’s ability to track itself around the object! The surface is also recessed to protect the targets when stored. If a target ever becomes damaged, it can always be replaced. Finally, this design has been optimized to be printed on regular FDM 3d printers with any support material.
We are very happy to share this design with you; you can download it for free!
There are tons of accessories like that that you can think of; maybe this one will be a source of inspiration for a new design. What can you come up with? We would like to know, drop us a line.
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