oh this is the coolest thing i’ve seen in ages. i’ve always been interested in 3d scanners, but the need for considerable precision in the mechanical design has always put me off. this on the otherhand…

Posted at 12:01 am on Jun 6th, 2007 by giskard

Like I said when I sent it in, I’d prefer to see the milk added automatically with a basic circuit and pump, but over all this is great. Such a simple solution to this problem that it’s easy to over look.

Posted at 12:20 am on Jun 6th, 2007 by Blind Tree Frog

Saw this when it was orignally posted on instructables. Extremely cool, it always amazes me when somebody pulls of what is normally considered a complex problem with simple household materials.

Posted at 12:45 am on Jun 6th, 2007 by tiuk

it’s a bit hard to tell what the resolution’s like… anyone know better than I do?

Posted at 1:20 am on Jun 6th, 2007 by ex-parrot

It’s such simple idea, it’s brilliant!!!

Posted at 1:24 am on Jun 6th, 2007 by waruwaru

im bulding in ir walk-in rotating scanner but still this is sweet

Posted at 1:41 am on Jun 6th, 2007 by alex mccown

I can see one problem; he adds three spoons of milk for every frame, but that does not correspond to the same amount of milk-level raising each time. I’d say that adding a pipe-line with a milk supply, and some sort of way to measure the milk-level, would be an approach offering greater detail-level and correctness.

Of course, I don’t know what I’m talking about, so just ignore me ^^

Posted at 4:23 am on Jun 6th, 2007 by Mikael

wow, great idea.

Posted at 7:21 am on Jun 6th, 2007 by crgwbr

“At the end of the video there’s a scan of your head–did you really keep your head still in milk for that long?”

LMAO
great hack!!

Posted at 7:52 am on Jun 6th, 2007 by Loebas

I have a sudden urge to scan a stack of Oreo cookies…

Posted at 8:04 am on Jun 6th, 2007 by gumnos

You could easily measure the milk level with some kind of bar at 45 degrees to the vertical in the cameras field of view. By measuring the length of the bar that’s visible to the camera, you can calculate depth.

Using this method, the system could be made easier very quickly by starting with the container full, and putting a small hole+cork in the bottom to let the milk drain out. As it drains, you constantly measure the depth and take readings at intervals of say 0.5mm, giving a much better resoloution. The wet and therefore reflective object being scanned may give holes in the model though, so it might be better to have the milk draining in from another higher up container.

A way to improve the accuracy would be to consider parallax, by adding in some trig calculations to the program, and then have multiple cameras in different places, using those calculations to allow “overhanging” bits of the model to be picked up.

Also, by using say a uv ink and uv light instead of the milk would allow you to easily scan items which are too white to programaticly discern with milk.

Posted at 9:28 am on Jun 6th, 2007 by Hello1024

Combining comments at the link the best idea I’ve heard mentioned is using an overflow style of tank (so the milk is at the top and overflows as the object lowers) with a shelf that the object sits on and lowers down into the tank automatically.

The milk then stays at the same level (because you just keep the tank full to the rim at all times) and you don’t have to adjust for the milk getting closer or further from the lens.

Posted at 11:08 am on Jun 6th, 2007 by Blind Tree Frog

that wont make it go linear. where the object is wide, the milk will rise a bit due to more milk displacement. it would have to be combined with a diagonal ruler, or some sort of floating device. (like the ones in toilet flushers)

Posted at 12:33 pm on Jun 6th, 2007 by Loebas

>> Post 13 (loebas)
“that wont make it go linear. where the object is wide, the milk will rise a bit due to more milk displacement. it would have to be combined with a diagonal ruler, or some sort of floating device. (like the ones in toilet flushers)”

At which point the milk will overflow over the edge of the container (like I stated) and the level of the milk will stay at the same exact level every single time.

Posted at 1:46 pm on Jun 6th, 2007 by Blind Tree Frog

Very nice. Any way to do this with plain water? Perhaps with a different colored lights or something and a piezo element to make the water reflect all lamps? Then take a continuous video while it’s filling up and then post-process.

Posted at 3:02 pm on Jun 6th, 2007 by DarkFader

way cool, nice work

Posted at 3:13 pm on Jun 6th, 2007 by sinerasis

@ hello1024:
The 45 degree bar method isn’t as simple a it first appears. For large increases in depth (e.g., 2mm steps), no problem. Once you start getting into the smaller steps (e.g., 0.5mm and so on), you’re going to run into problems with surface tension and the milk’s meniscus. You may have to increase the level several times before surface tension gives in and allows the milk to change location on the level.

Posted at 8:09 pm on Jun 6th, 2007 by MacGyverS2000

Now this is a sweet hack. Is there someway this method could create a 3D CAD file for the scanned object? I’ve been working on a project that would need metal parts machined to the contours of my head, and this would solve my dillema if I could create an accurate 3D CAD file for my head. Any thoughts?

Posted at 9:03 pm on Jun 6th, 2007 by Drew

the song on the vid reminds me of drinking milk…. mmmm… :)

Posted at 11:22 pm on Jun 6th, 2007 by andrew

The trouble with this is that it’s using a webcam, which means the images it captures are in perspective. That’s okay for small objects where accuracy isn’t that necessary (as shown), but I wouldn’t use it for any precision work.

If you can manage to get a scanner head to take focused images a few inches away, then you’d really have something.

Posted at 11:48 pm on Jun 6th, 2007 by Matt

Coolest hack I’ve seen on any site for a long time, I might be tempted to do this!

Posted at 12:38 am on Jun 7th, 2007 by Reader

To fix the issue of surface tension with the diagonal bar, just add alcohol to the milk to break the tension (a white russian scanner?) Or perhaps float a thin layer of oil on top (the oil will stay in place, since with the bar, you don’t have to let the milk overflow anymore).

Posted at 12:49 am on Jun 7th, 2007 by Smurfsahoy

Very good… I like it!

But here are other less messy ways as well, that turn out good results…. One of them is the free laser scanning software DAVID…..

Check out some tests I did for a rig that cost me £15.50 for my first scans…

http://www.blog.global6.net/julesd/index.php?/categories/7-DAVID-scans

J

Posted at 8:25 pm on Jun 7th, 2007 by JulesD

Unless I’m misunderstanding the method here, it seems it will only accurately scan objects that narrow as you move up the Y-axis because otherwise the object’s width would be blocking the camera’s view.

If this were a profile view(the webcam would still be viewing from the top), the webcam wouldn’t see anything below the widest point of the object.
___
/ \
/ \
\ /
\ /
—

This of course could be solved by scanning one side and then the other but would still leave some objects unscannable. Good for what it is though.

Posted at 1:16 pm on Jun 10th, 2007 by Eric

coolest 3d scanner i`ve ever seen. great!

Does anyone know the name of the song?

Posted at 10:05 am on Aug 6th, 2007 by flug