3D Scanner
What is your project about
Why did you decide to make it
How does it work
Physical Design of the 3d Scanner
Plotting the scanned coordinates with Python Matplotlib
Input object for 3D Scanner
The output of the 3D Scanner
Issue and Improper Result

Published February 15, 2022 © GPL3+

Making 3D Scanner | 3D Scan Object At Home | Plot in Python

This is a 3D Scanner. An ultrasonic sensor is rotated by the servo motor. The object to be scanned is revolved by a motor. Plots in Python.

BeginnerFull instructions provided8,152

Making 3D Scanner | 3D Scan Object At Home | Plot in Python

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Arduino UNO

SparkFun Ultrasonic Sensor - HC-SR04

SG90 Micro-servo motor

Geared DC Motor, 12 V

Texas Instruments Dual H-Bridge motor drivers L293D

9V 1A Switching Wall Power Supply

Software apps and online services

Arduino IDE

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Servo Motor, Premium Male/Male Jumper Wires

Breadboard, 170 Pin

Story

3D Scanner

Full Demonstration

What is your project about?

This project is about making a 3d scanner at home. Which can scan any object & provide its X, Y & Z coordinates. These coordinates can then be imported for 3D printing. To replicate any old/broken object.

Why did you decide to make it?

I made this to ease my work. I had an object that I wanted to replicate by 3D printing. I want it to be a little bigger. That object was very complex to take its dimensions physically. This scanner helped me in scanning that complex object.

How does it work?

This scanner is powered by an Atmega328p microcontroller onboard Arduino Uno. There is an ultrasonic sensor that provides the distance between itself & the object in front of it. This sensor is attached to a servo motor in such a way that the sensor is rotated from 45° to 135°. This gives us a 1 line scan of the object. Then the object is rotated 18° anticlockwise with the help of a dc motor connected. This motor rotates 20 times. Thus providing a full 360° scan of the object.

Physical Design of the 3d Scanner

Ultrasonic Sensor Attached to Servo Motor

The Ultrasonic sensor (HC-SR04) is attached to the horn of a servo motor (SG-90). The sensor takes the distance reading whereas the motor rotates the sensor simultaneously.

Worm Gear arrangement to rotate the object.

The object to be rotated is placed on the gear. This gear is driven by a worm attached to a DC motor. This arrangement reduces the speed & increases the torque. One more advantage is that the object to be rotated stays in position even if there is a loss of power.

After each top to bottom scan of the object, this motor rotates the object 18° anticlockwise.

Setup of the 3D Scanner

The above image shows the whole setup of the 3D Scanner.

Plotting the scanned coordinates with Python Matplotlib

Coordinates from the 3D Scanner

The Arduino code provides the X, Y& Z coordinates. These coordinates are then plotted with the help of the matplotlib library in the python programming language.

The following libraries need to be imported.

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
from mpl_toolkits import mplot3d
from mpl_toolkits.mplot3d import Axes3D

Below code 3D plots the coordinates

fig = plt.figure()
ax = plt.axes(projection ='3d')
ax.scatter(x, y, z, c=z, cmap='viridis', linewidth=0.5) 
ax.set_title('3D Plot Of The Scan')
plt.show()

X, Y & Z are the lists containing respective coordinates.

Input object for 3D Scanner

1 / 2 • Object to be scanned by 3D Scanner

The above object needs to be scanned by the 3D Scanner.

The output of the 3D Scanner

1 / 2 • Plot of the Scanned object

The above images show the plot of the scanned object.

Issue and Improper Result

The scan is not perfect due to inaccurate & cheap components. The worm gear arrangement had some engagement issues. But, this is just a technology demonstration. It will require many modifications to be accurate.

That's how we made a 3d scanner at home with off-the-shelf components & plotted/visualized it with the help of matplotlib (python).

Robotics EveryDay!!!

Schematics

Code

Code for 3D Scanner

#include <Servo.h>
#include <math.h>

Servo m;

int t = 7;
int e=  6;
int n;

void setup() {
  pinMode(t, OUTPUT);  //trigger pin
  pinMode(e, INPUT);  //echo pin
  pinMode(8,OUTPUT); //pin to control DC motor, goes to mosfet
  m.attach(10);     //servo motor pin
  
  Serial.begin(9600);

}

int distance(){
  
  long duration, cm;
  
  digitalWrite(t, LOW);
  delayMicroseconds(2);
  digitalWrite(t, HIGH);
  delayMicroseconds(5);
  digitalWrite(t, LOW);
  
  duration = pulseIn(e, HIGH);

  cm = duration/ 29 / 2;
  
  return cm; //returns distance in centimeters
}

void revolve(){ // rotates motor 18 degree
 digitalWrite(8,HIGH);
 delay(120);
 digitalWrite(8,LOW);

}

void scan(){
  int i;
  for(i=70;i<=120;i+=1){
    m.write(i);
    
    delay(25);      
    
    float d= distance();

    if (d<30){
      
      Serial.print(n);
      Serial.print(",");
   
      Serial.print(d*cos((i-90)*3.14/180));
      Serial.print(",");
   
      Serial.print(d*sin((i-90)*3.14/180));
      Serial.println();  
      
      }
    
  

  }
  
  for(i=120;i>=70;i-=1){
    m.write(i);
    delay(20);
    }

}

void loop() {

  int i;

  Serial.println("Start");
  
  for(i=0;i<20;i+=1){ // scan 20 times, every revolution is 18° i.e. 20x18° = 360°
    n=i;
    
    scan();       //scan top to bottom
    revolve();   // revolve the object
    delay(50);  //repeat    
    
  }
 
 Serial.println("End");
 delay(50);
 
}

Credits

Robotics EveryDay

0 projects • 9 followers

Making 3D Scanner | 3D Scan Object At Home | Plot in Python

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Story

3D Scanner

What is your project about?

Why did you decide to make it?

How does it work?

Physical Design of the 3d Scanner

Plotting the scanned coordinates with Python Matplotlib

Input object for 3D Scanner

The output of the 3D Scanner

Issue and Improper Result

Custom parts and enclosures

CAD Design of 3D Scanner

Schematics

Schematic of 3D Scanner

Code

Code for 3D Scanner

Credits

Robotics EveryDay

Comments

Embed the widget on your own site

Making 3D Scanner | 3D Scan Object At Home | Plot in Python

Making 3D Scanner | 3D Scan Object At Home | Plot in Python

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Story

3D Scanner

What is your project about?

Why did you decide to make it?

How does it work?

Physical Design of the 3d Scanner

Plotting the scanned coordinates with Python Matplotlib

Input object for 3D Scanner

The output of the 3D Scanner

Issue and Improper Result

Custom parts and enclosures

CAD Design of 3D Scanner

Schematics

Schematic of 3D Scanner

Code

Code for 3D Scanner

Credits

Robotics EveryDay

Comments

Related channels and tags