I’m trying out a new online tool to produce outlines for designing custom 3D printed holders.
The tool is called “ShapeScan”, and it’s completely free to use. The purpose is to convert an image of a solid object into a 2D SVG outline, which can then be used in 3D modeling tools.
The workflow is straightforward. Your first step is to print the A4-sized marker page. This is a blank sheet of paper with QR code-like symbols on the corners. These are used by the system to gauge the precise dimensions of the target object.
There’s a catch here: you MUST print this on A4 or larger paper sheets, otherwise the markers won’t be fully visible. In North America, this means changing your print settings from (probably) “Letter”, which is 8.5” x 11”, to A4, which is slightly taller. You will also have to use A4 paper in your 2D printer. North Americans will almost certainly not have any A4 paper on hand, but “Legal” sized paper (8.5” x 14.0”) will do just fine — the markers easily appear on the paper.
The next step after producing a proper print of the marker page is to lay it down, markers up, in a well-lighted area. The object to be measured is placed on the paper, ensuring that all markers are visible.
Get above the paper and object, and take a straight-down image, making sure you don’t have prominent shadows on the scene. It doesn’t matter if there are items outside the paper in the image.
Then we head to the ShapeScan web page and upload that image. After some processing, the site produces an SVG (or PNG) for immediate download. You can see the results of my processing above.
Once you have the SVG file, what do you do with it? This is the fun part: you can import it into your favorite CAD program and manipulate it.
In my case I loaded the SVG into a Fusion sketch, and drew a rectangle around it.
Then I extruded the rectangle upwards a significant amount, and the object outline only a little. The result is a perfectly formed holder for that specific object. The 3D modeling took only seconds — in fact Fusion took longer to launch than it did to complete the modeling and export the design.
From there you can print the resulting 3D model and within a few hours you will have your custom holder ready for use.
Via ShapeScan
