Shining 3D EinScan HX Review: Specs, Features, Software and More
3D scanning first emerged in the second half of the 20th century. The first machines used projectors, which were later replaced by white light and lasers. As is the case with any rapidly evolving technology, 3D scanning has been steadily becoming both cheaper and more accurate. The professional solutions are utilized in various fields: from the medical sector to law enforcement, from design to architecture.
And their prices are more affordable than ever. The Einscan HX by Chinese manufacturer Shining 3D is one of the solutions that offer an impressive level of quality.
About Shining 3D
Source: www.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.
Shining 3D EinScan HX Overview
EinScan HX is a professional portable handheld 3D scanner. It’s a part of a new family of 3D scanners by Shining 3D, dubbed the H-series. The device is designed to scan the objects ranging in size from 0.3 to 4m in any dimension.
Source: einscan.com
The scanner utilizes a hybrid technology: it uses both blue laser and blue LED light sources. Each technology is used in a different scanning mode. There are two of them: Laser scan and Rapid scan. The former is slower and doesn’t support texture scanning, but the laser allows the device to get better results when working with reflective and darker color surfaces since it’s less sensitive to ambient light. It also has a better resolution (0.05 mm - 3 mm). The Rapid scan utilizes the blue LED lights, which is significantly faster, hence the name (the scanning speed in this mode reaches 1,200,000 measurements per second). Both modes support color scanning.
Technical Specifications
- Accuracy: Up to 0.04 mm
- Connectivity: USB 3.0
- Display: No
- Weight: 710 g
- Technology: Structured Light
- Acquisition speed: 1,200,000 points/s (480,000 in Laser mode)
- Camera frame rate: 55 FPS
- Hardware requirements (Recommended): OS - Win10，64 bit；Graphics card - NVIDIA GTX1080 and higher；Video memory - ≥4GB；Processor - I7-8700；Memory - ≥32GB
- Depth of field: 200-700mm; 350 - 610 mm
- Output formats: OBJ; STL; ASC; PLY; P3 ; 3MF
- Point Distance: 0.05 mm - 3 mm (0.25 mm - 3 mm in Rapid scan mode)
- Rotating table: No
- Safety: Eye-safe
- Working distance: 470mm
- Scan volume max: 420 mm x 440 mm
- Texture: Yes, only in Rapid mode
- Color: Yes
- Price: $12,000.00
What’s in the Box?
Source: shining3d.com
The contents of the packaging include:
- EinScan HX
- 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 HX 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.
Software
The EinScan HX comes with a professional proprietary ExScan Pro software solution. It is a professional software for 3D scanning and data processing that features a variety of advanced options for data 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
Application
Scanning a Motorcycle
The Shining 3D EinScan HX launch webinar video has shown how the device can be utilized to get a high-quality scan of a front part of a motorcycle.
Source: youtube.com
The resulting scan had an incredible level of accuracy.
Source: youtube.com
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Relatively affordable
- Extremely accurate
- Compact
- Two different scan modes: Laser and Rapid.
- Fast speed of scanning in Rapid mode (1,200,000 measurements per second)
- Able to scan in color in all modes
- Can scan texture in Rapid mode
- Easy to set up and use
- Powerful proprietary software solution
Conclusion
The EinScan HX is a professional solution that still manages to be affordable. This portable handheld device offers the level of accuracy that is rare among 3D scanners of this price range and size. The EinScan HX utilizes a hybrid technology, using blue LED lights for high-speed scanning (the so-called Rapid mode) and lasers for more accurate scanning of objects with dark or reflective surfaces. Setting up the machine is also a straightforward process that consists of a few steps. Proprietary software offered by Shining 3D is intuitive and makes post-processing as easy as possible.
Able to meet the requirements of demanding professionals without compromising on portability and coming at an affordable price, the EinScan HX offers a great level of accuracy and manages to be a versatile tool that can satisfy the vast majority of users.