I've been sporadically working with the Seal Lite for about two weeks. I got it to hopefully replace a genuinely laborious photogrammetry workflow that I've been doing for a couple of years. The subjects I am scanning are small, hard-surface objects with sharp edges and smooth surfaces. I make a mesh of the object and then sculpt a new version of the object over the mesh. This process takes a long time with photogrammetry because I have to take hundreds of DSLR photos of each subject. The Seal Lite can make scans in a fraction of the time that it took to take the photos, but processing those scans into a good, usable mesh is very challenging. JM Studio is a relatively easy to use to acquire the scan data, but it's a lightweight when it comes to processing the scans into a good mesh. I've turned to CloudCompare for most of the point cloud processing. CloudCompare is heavy-duty software that can do just about anything, and its learning curve is a bit steep. Rule #1: the absolute best surface to scan is matte light gray. The Seal Lite can get a near-perfect scan of a primer gray spray can top, so painting the subject with light gray primer is a step in the right direction to getting good scan data. Maybe AESUB spray can sufficiently matte an object, but I don't know. I do know that matte white primer is not as good as matte light gray primer. Rule #2: scanning with subdued ambient light is ideal. Rule #3: black objects are invisible to the scanner. This is handy, because a matte black stand can be used to elevate the scan subject off the turntable and it doesn't appear in the scans. Rule #4: High Brightness and Sensitivity aren't very useful. I have gotten my best scans with Brightness set to 3 and Sensitivity to 1 or 2. Although I haven't been able to get a mesh with the Seal Lite that rivals the quality of the meshes I was getting with photogrammetry, I think it's just a matter of time before I nail down the CloudCompare workflow that will give me the best meshes.
This is the first scanner I've owned and/or operated and it has been very user friendly. So far my scans have met my expectations and providing the information I need to rebuild parts for my customers. I would recommend this scanner to mechanical modelers/designers looking to reverse engineer parts for rebuilds or modifications.
It’s a bit tricky to get the scanner up and running, and it takes a lot of practice to scan a part properly and then convert it into a 3D print. Once you’ve got the hang of it, though, it’s a real pleasure and you can enjoy the sense of relief it brings to your work.
The Multi-Axis Turntable come packaged well, has good features but suffers with poor instructions on how to use it. The small manual uses images that are not very helpful in assembling the product. The JM Studio software is difficult to use, has features that are not well explained. Video tutorials are short and give little information on how to troubleshoot problems.The unit itself seems to incorrectly position the Seal Lite Scanner as it does not center the scanned item in its view. As a set distance from scanner to the object there are many misses, claiming too close, too far or asking you to reset the object to a prior position (You cannot do that as the turntable has a set rotation route that cannot be reversed to reset the object in the scanner's view. Also, JM Studio is difficult in aligning several scans. Scanned objects have soft corners, even when objects are painted with dry shampoo spray. I have not had more thana single successful scan for 3d printing. This needs to be addressed. And, while you are at it, have an English speaker rewrite the manuals and instructions. There is not enough detail in any documentation. The tutorials provide only a simple process that is so basic, that they don't represent a typical use of the scanner. Try harder, 3dMakerPro!!!
Super easy to use. Was scanning in 5 min. All I had handy was a cracker lol. 3d print came out perfectly. Trying to model it would have take. Forever.
The tech support is really great. They had the problem solved right away. And now I’m really looking forward to scanning with my new Eagle LiDAR Scanner.
Thank you
Great product, surely for beginners like me and for people who want to try a new hobby or a way to initiate a new reverse engineering career.
While I enjoy the scanner, (5/5) the software could be more user friendly (3/5 at best). A user manual would be a nice thing to have and looking for online videos to advise on how to use the software has been unsuccessful. While there might be a 3DMakerPro user page would be nice, there really isn't one.
Excellent scanner, for the price and in its segment. I'll definitely get the older model for myself.
cheap as the first slam lidar, good collection quality... but very little information on what settings are responsible for what, what settings to make when processing the received data...
Si vous travaillez dans la constitution le Raven est super pratique pour relever des chantier et pour calculer les cubature
+Hardware seems good.
+I have captured some objects.
-The 2 plugs (power + data) make it annoying to use mobile with a laptop.
-Software is typical chinese software: Unintuitive, undocumented, not available for linux, wants you to log in to a cloud for no reason.
-Some functions don't work at all (auto-aligning multiple scans) and fail with no-detail messages.
-It's just super low effort software development.
-I find myself using JMstudio to capture a point cloud and then immediately exporting that to cloudcompare/meshlab/meshmixer/freecad for cleanup/editing. Ideally JMstudio would be able to do a little bit of the cleanup so beginners didn't have to immediately learn a whole new software pipeline.
+For $210 (there is a discount code out there) it's a fine tool.
This scanning spray does a great job, great coverage with each spray, makes the can last way longer than some others I’ve tried.
A good beginner’s scanners for making As-Built with out spending too much money
This is obviously not a professional scanner...
The tracking is good enough, but it struggles with larger, flat surfaces (like other scanners in this category).
Once you get used to the scanning speed, it's actually usable. I don't mind that it lacks a screen or that it's wired, but I do mind that it doesn't have a start-stop button.
At its launch price, would I buy it again? Yes! But if you want to scan ultra-detailed objects, this is not for you. If you are into reverse engineering (like me), it delivers on its advertised specs (yes, it's accurate, as long as it doesn't ghost).
One last thing: if you use JMStudio, make sure you have enough RAM—I would recommend at least 16 GB. The program doesn't use the video card at all, just the CPU...
Honestly pretty nice, wayyy better than I expected, and have already used it a couple times!
