EinScan H Review: Specs, Features, Software and More

The advances in modern 3D technologies are impressive, to say the least. But with the ever-evolving 3D printing that only in the past decade has managed to become something that’s accessible nearly to everyone, people tend to forget about another close technology: 3D scanning. Digitizing objects and getting their three-dimensional data isn’t a new concept: first scanners appeared in the 1960s, only to continue to advance. Later decades saw the technology to switch from using projections to utilizing white light and lasers, as well as progressively becoming more affordable to the general population. 

Nowadays, it’s possible to find a portable handheld 3D scanner that doesn’t cost a fortune and does a good job of digitizing objects of various sizes. One such solution is called the Einscan H offered by a Chinese brand Shining 3D. It’s great for professional and business purposes, such as manufacturing, 3D modeling, architecture, generative design, healthcare, education, and human scanning.

 

Source: @rudyf222 / instagram.com

 

About Shining 3D

Source: shining3d.com

Shining 3D is a China-based 3D scanner manufacturer that was founded in 2004. Since then the company has had a growing reputation and position in the market. Their experts have been working on 3D digitizing and additive manufacturing for more than a decade. Shining 3D is able to develop 3D products at a large scale, using and providing various technologies. 

The company offers both high-end and affordable 3D scanners that are meant to be accessible for all industries where 3D digitizing matters. As the majority of the scanning devices produced by Shining 3D, the Einscan H manages to provide an impressive level of accuracy at an affordable price.

 

Shining 3D Einscan H Overview

The Einscan H is a portable handheld 3D scanner that is capable of capturing objects in full color. Decently-sized scan volume of 780 x 900 mm allows the device to be a rather versatile solution. 

The scanner utilizes a hybrid structured light technology, combining LED and infrared lights, the latter of which greatly improves scanning of dark-color objects. The Einscan H features improved capture algorithms, high-resolution scans, larger scan volume, fast speed of acquisition, and many other handy functions.

The device can work in 3 different modes: Standard, Body, and Face. The Standard mode is designed to be used with a wide variety of objects, ranging in size from 0.3 to 4 meters. It utilizes LED as a light source. The Body scanning mode is for capturing the human body. LED technology is used here as well. The Face scanning mode differs significantly from the other two, utilizing infrared light and operating with a slower speed (720,000 points per second compared to 1,200,000 of the Standard and Body modes), while also slightly compromising on accuracy. But its perks are well worth it: the mode allows the users to scan the human face in detail, even including hair.

For example, take a look at this portrait accurately capturing details:

All of the modes are capable of scanning textures. In case with this vase, the scan quality in terms of color and surface is evident.

Source: youtube.com

Source: youtube.com

The specifics of each mode are presented in the table:

Mode	Standard	Body scan	Face scan
Light source	LED	LED	Invisible infrared
Accuracy	up to 0.05 mm	up to 0.05 mm	up to 0.6 mm
Scan speed	up to 20 FPS; up to 1,200,000 points/s		up to 20 FPS; up to 720,000 points/s
Point distance	0.2–3 mm	0.25–3 mm	0.24 mm
Align modes	Markers, Feature, Hybrid, Texture	Feature	Feature
Max. FOV	420 x 440 mm	420 x 440 mm	780 x 900 mm
Full-color & texture scans	Yes

 

Shining3D Einscan H 3D Scanner

 

What’s in the box

Source: youtube.com

The contents of the packaging include: 

• Shining Einscan H 3D Scanner
• Power adapter
• Power cable
• Calibration board
• Calibration board support
• Markers
• Marker removal tool
• USB drive

For some items, package content may change. In case of any questions, please get in touch.

 

Preparation

The preparation process starts with the hardware installation:

• Insert the pin plug into the scanner’s circular connector port
• Plug the other one into the scanner’s USB port
• Plug the power adapter into the connection cable 
• Plug the other end of the power cable into a power outlet
• Connect the other end of the connection cable to a USB 3.0 port on your computer

Source: shining3d.com

The next thing to do is to download and install software. 

• Go to https://www.einscan.com/support/download/
• Choose the Einscan H model
• Click on the ‘Software’ button to download it
• To activate the License, turn on the scanner after connecting it to a PC and running software

The last step of the preparation process is calibration.

• Put the calibration board vertically
• Follow the instructions provided by the software
• Make sure that the device’s camera is aimed at the center of the board without significant angling
• For White Balance calibration aim the scanner at the back side of the calibration board (the white side), move the scanner up and down. 

 Apart from this, there is an informative video guide from Shining 3D:

 

Highlights

Hybrid technology

The machine combines LED structured light and invisible infrared light, which makes for advanced smart presetting in different scan modes. The system like this gives access to a broad range of applications.

 

Safe invisible light

Invisible infrared light in the Face scan mode provides a comfortable and safe scanning experience.

Source: einscan.com

You can see this mode live in the following video:

As you can note, the person being scanned is not even blanking because the infrared mode is convenient for the eyes.

 

High detalization

The Shining 3D Einscan H offers a high resolution of 0.25 mm that allows capturing full geometry of objects such as artwork or furniture with fine details. The commendable accuracy of the device (up to 0.05 mm) improves the precision of 3D modeling. The resulting sofa scan looks great with the original pattern and deep colors.

 

User-friendly design

The scanner is aimed at simple and intuitive use. With the compact dimensions, leight weight, clear software interface, and a number of handy dedicated buttons, both beginners and professionals are sure to enjoy using this portable and yet powerful device.

 

Software

The Einscan H comes with a proprietary ExScan Pro software solution. It is a professional software for 3D scanning and data processing that features a variety of advanced options for comprehensive editing. For instance, it features point clouds generation, meshing, texture alignment, and post-processing. In addition, it is really easy and intuitive to use.

The scheme below shows how the software workflow looks:

Source: shining3d.com

It is also possible to work with meshes in a third-party software, for example, one can import files to the Geomagic Essentials or the Solid Edge Shining 3D Edition.

In 2021, Shining 3D released an update for the software that delivers even more accurate and detailed results in the Face scan mode. The changes are reflected in the video below.

 

Application

Scanning human face

The video of the device’s premier shows how it can be used for scanning human head, face, and hair. 

Source: youtube.com

The level of detail that the scanner was able to capture is impressive: it even managed to scan hair with great accuracy.

Source: youtube.com

 

Traditional clothes scanning

The full body scan is a huge perspective for mass customization. The high-resolution Einscan H 3D scanner captures the details important to doctors, artists, and designers. The latter, for instance, will benefit from the device’s capability to acquire the precise shapes and sizes as well as tricky colors and authentic elements.

The example of this use can be studied below. The resulting model of the Chinese traditional attire strikes with the depth of accuracy.

 

Heritage preservation

The Shining 3D Einscan H can be a valuable solution for historians and restorers. The device possesses the capability for quality color and texture scanning, which is vividly demonstrated through this painting model. 

Another example of a detailed sculpture model illustrates the benefits of the device even more.

 

Medical 3D scanning

The Shining 3D Einscan H is frequently used as a diagnostics tool by medical specialists.  

 

Using the scanner for cosplay

A customizing enthusiast decided to use the Einscan H to make individual costumes for cosplay or Halloween. He scanned different body parts and used them as base forms to design custom clothing items that would fit a particular person.

Source: youtube.com

Source: youtube.com

The Einscan H made the customizing process much easier and allowed creating masks ideally suited for specific customers.

Source: youtube.com

 

Comparing Shining 3D Einscan H with Shining 3D Einscan HX

The Einscan HX is an industrial handheld 3D scanner. The device boasts ergonomic lightweight design, high-resolution scans, large scan volume, fast scanning speed, and a number of other handy features. However, the most important characteristic is its innovative hybrid system combining two light sources: laser and structured light. It makes for the rapid 3D scanning mode and ability to capture dark-colored and reflective surfaces.

Let’s compare the technical parameters of the two models under consideration:

	Shining 3D Einscan H	Shining 3D Einscan HX
Accuracy	Up to 0.05 mm	Up to 0.04 mm
Connectivity	USB	USB
Display	No	No
Technology	White light	Blue LED, Laser
Acquisition speed	Up to 1,200,000 points/s (Standard, Body); Up to 720,000 points/s (Face)	Up to 1,200,000 points/s (LED scan mode);  Up to 480,000 points/s (Laser scan mode)
Camera frame rate	55 FPS	20–55 FPS
System requirements	OS: Win10, 64 bit; Graphics card: NVIDIA GTX1080 and higher; Video memory: ≥4GB; Processor: I7-8700; Memory: ≥32GB	OS: Win10, 64 bit; Graphics card: NVIDIA GTX1080 and higher; Video memory: ≥4Gb; Processor: I7-8700; Memory: ≥32GB
Depth of field	200–700 mm (Standard, Body);  200–1500 mm (Face)	200–700 mm (LED scan mode);  350–610 mm (Laser scan mode)
Output formats	OBJ; STL; ASC; PLY; P3; 3MF	OBJ; STL; ASC; PLY; P3; 3MF
Point distance	0.25 mm–3mm (Standard, Body); 0.24 mm (Face)	0.25 mm–3 mm (LED scan mode); 0.05mm–3mm (Laser scan mode)
Rotating table	No	No
Max. scan volume	420 x 440 mm (Standard, Body); 780 x 900 mm (Face)	420 x 440 mm (LED scan mode);  380 x 400 mm (Laser scan mode)
Texture / Color	Yes	Yes
Price	$4,999.00	$9,999.00

The differences shown in the table prove that the Einscan HX model is more precise and versatile in terms of its functions and characteristics. Moreover, it has a wider range of applications due to the built-in laser technology. On the other hand, the H model has a quite impressive scan range and is better for human scanning thanks to the infrared mode which allows scanning the subject’s face without causing any inconvenience to the subject’s eyes as well as scanning dark hair. Also, it incorporates advanced alignment algorithms that allow capturing slight body movement.

Other than that, two scanners share many similar features. Both the Einscan H and HX support texture and color scanning, which make them ideal for corresponding fields of application. For example, the Shining 3D Einscan H is great for design and education purposes, while the Einscan HX will serve as a reliable tool for reverse engineering and manufacturing.

 

Conclusion

The Einscan H is an affordable device from the H-series of 3D scanners by Chinese manufacturer Shining 3D. Regardless of the price, it offers an impressive accuracy and is a very versatile machine. The device can be used for various purposes and features three scanning modes: Standard, Body, and Face. The machine utilizes LED lights in the first two modes, while the Face scanning mode requires using invisible infrared light, which slows down the process but allows capturing human hair with an incredible level of detail. Setting up the machine is quite easy and consists of a few simple steps. The proprietary software offered by Shining 3D is user-friendly and makes post-processing as intuitive as possible.

Aimed at both hobbyists and experienced users, the Einscan H is a great, easy to use, and comprehensive solution that comes at an affordable price.