This weeks assignments is to 3D scan an object and 3D print it. We used a Kinect and Reconstruct me to generate 3D scans of our heads and upper body. I sat in a swivel office chair and slowly spun myself around while trying to keep my head and upper body as still as possible. Anna held the scanner slightly higher than the top of my head and about 3 to 4 feet away while I shuffled myself around. It took a few attempts to get a scan that didn't have any huge holes in it. Each scan took between 30 seconds and a minute or so. I was really supprised at the quality of the 3D image that was generated in reconstruct me and how fast it was.
After generating the scan it was time to clean it up and get it ready for 3D printing. I started by downloading several software packages. (Netfabb, Meshlab, Meshmixer, Pleasant 3D, and Blender) Next I watched this tutorial by Tony Buser. I followed the tutorial step by step using my scanned image. The tutorial is very well done and although it took a while to go through. However, by taking it one step at a time I was able to create a nice clean, printable model. Once the model was finished I opened the file with Replicator G, generated the G-code and printed the model on the Makerbot.
