Shining EinScan Pro HD 3D Scanner Review

3D scanning is an important part of the world of 3D technologies. Digitizing the objects in a fast and uncomplicated manner is a priority for many, as it allows both the professionals and enthusiasts to have more opportunities and flexibility. The applications are seemingly endless: from replacing simple parts by utilizing both 3D scanning and 3D printing, to reverse engineering of complex pieces of technology. It can also be used for digitizing artworks and recreating car crashes: various fields have been implementing the technology with great success. 

Historically, 3D scanning used to be expensive, limited to experienced professionals and commercial users, but things are changing now. 

This article will cover the handheld 3D scanner by a successful Chinese manufacturer Shining 3D — the Einscan Pro HD. This isn’t the cheapest device from this company but it’s aimed at professionals and is significantly less expensive than American and European counterparts while providing the same level of quality.

 

About Shining 3D

Shining 3D is a 3D printer and scanner manufacturer that has been present on the market for more than a decade. Their own ecosystem consists of equipment, materials, and cloud services that have been in active development since 2004. The company was one of the first 3D technological brands worldwide who could offer the solutions and integration of this level. The majority of their products are aimed at the professionals but they have extended their reach and some of the devices that are geared towards the enthusiasts have been added to their product line in 2020. 

The main advantage of using the Shining 3D products is a lower price compared to western solutions, as well as great functionality and useful features.

Source: facebook.com

These days, Shining 3D are solidifying their position in the global market. Their experts are working on various projects in medical, art, and engineering fields, teaming up with leading European and American companies. The company’s offices in Stuttgart, Germany, and San Francisco, California are open for close collaboration with foreign partners.

 

Shining Einscan Pro HD overview

The Einscan Pro HD is an upgraded version of the Einscan Pro 3D scanner based on the structured-light technology. The exterior is similar to the older models in the series, thanks to its ergonomic and high-quality design. The devices of this line can be used with a dedicated tripod, and the HD version fully supports the add-on from an older one. 

The machine (together with a USB cable) weighs 1.13 kg. It can be operated with a single hand. A dedicated tripod as well as a proprietary turntable can be optionally used. The latter comes in handy for digitizing small objects.

Source: einscan.com

This professional 3D scanner offers high accuracy of scanning in both of its modes of operation: up to 0.045+0.3 mm/m in the Handheld mode and up to 0.04 mm in the Fixed Scan mode. The Handheld mode has two submodes: Rapid and HD, with the latter providing a higher level of detail. The maximum possible scanning speed of this scanner is 3 million points per second. Even if you look away from the spec sheet, you can notice that the device works extremely fast in real-life scenarios. As an example, a low-relief sculpture sized 220 x 71 cm can be fully digitized in color in less than a minute.

Source: einscan.com

The Shining EinScan Pro HD can be used for scanning various kinds of objects: the most obvious type would be the objects with decently sized volumes. The quality of the optical system and software of this scanner will allow you to work with dark matte surfaces. However, in order to successfully scan glossy or transparent surfaces, you will need to use dark spray. The EinScan Pro HD can be used outdoors but the object that needs to be digitized will need to be protected from direct sunlight. Scanning human bodies in decent quality is also possible with this device. Last but not least, the Einscan Pro HD can capture color, including even textured images. This feature is available as a paid option called Color Pack.

Source: einscan.com

For many potential buyers (if not for the majority) the affordability of the Shining Einscan Pro HD would be its greatest advantage. The technical specifications and convenience of this device are on par with the American and European offers, but the price is several times lower. Even with all of the possible options, modules, and additional equipment included, as well as the accessories, the device still comes cheaper. 

 

What’s in the box

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The Shining EinScan Pro HD comes fully assembled. Apart from the device itself, the packaging includes:

• Checklist
• USB drive
• Phone screen mount
• Calibration board
• Calibration board support
• Power cable
• Cable clip and marker remover
• Markers

 

Unboxing

As we’ve already mentioned, the Shining Einscan Pro HD comes fully assembled in a durable cardboard box.

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Inside you will find another box in the company’s firm style. It contains the calibration board, checklist, and several smaller boxes with the necessary components as well as the scanner itself.

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When you remove the top layer with the power adaptor, you can see the power cable, phone screen mount, and the scanner.

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Finally, you get the cradle for your new machine. The only thing left under the scanner is the pack of markers.

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The Einscan Pro HD comes wrapped in two layers of plastic, which ensures its safety on the way to you.

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Preparation

Technically, the handheld 3D scanner Shining Einыcan Pro HD can be used ‘out of the box’. Before using the device for the first time, the logical thing to do would be to calibrate it. This is also recommended if it suddenly stopped working. The process is easy and can be done even by inexperienced users due to the detailed instructions provided by the manufacturer.

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The proprietary software called the EXScan Pro is used for calibration. The first thing to do would be to choose a calibration mode. The calibration board must first be placed on a horizontal surface and then scanned. After that, it should be scanned in two different positions on a turntable. For color calibration, the board is supposed to be placed upside down until the Einscan Pro HD gets the white balance correctly.

 

Software

Two programs can be used to unravel the whole potential of the Shining Einscan Pro HD: the EXScan Pro is used for calibration and scanning of objects. The second program is called the Solid Edge SHINING 3D and is a modified piece of software originally developed by Siemens. It allows the user to convert the models into CAD files to edit them and prepare for printing.

Below is a snapshot of the EXScan Pro interface. 

Source: youtube.com

 

Consumables and accessories 

Source: 3dscanexpert.com

The device prioritizes monochrome scanning. For working with the objects that have colored surfaces, one should consider installing a Color Pack module. There’s also an Industrial Pack option available, which includes a tripod and a dedicated turntable, allowing to scan objects from 3 to 30 cm. Proprietary markers can be bought separately for scanning big objects with low-contrast surfaces.

 

Applications

Thanks to its advanced features and high quality, the Einscan Pro HD is great for use in a plethora of different spheres, including:

• Architecture
• Art and generative design
• Reverse engineering
• Manufacturing
• AR, VR, 3D modeling
• Heritage preservation, artifact restoration
• Science and education
• Healthcare
• Full-body and partial human scans

The level of detail captured by the device is vividly demonstrated by the scan of this fine sculpture provided by the manufacturer company.

Little Sculpture by SHINING 3D on Sketchfab

Our test project for the fixed scanning mode showed that the machine performs the tasks with complex geometry objects well.

Wheel, Fixed Scan by Top3DShop on Sketchfab

One of the most interesting areas of application is human scanning. Shining 3D offered a face scan to estimate the capabilities of the HD model. 

Face by SHINING 3D on Sketchfab

We tried out this aspect, too. The resulting model is quite impressive for a complete human scan.

Scan of a person by Top3DShop on Sketchfab

 

Where does Einscan Pro HD sit in the Einscan product line?

The Einscan Pro HD is targeted at scanning objects between 3 and 300 cm, whilst the Einscan 2X is targeted at objects between 3 cm and 100 cm, and the Einscan H/HX is targeted at objects between 30 and 300 cm. This makes the Einscan Pro HD the most versatile 3D scanner of all as it allows working with both small and large objects. Its major limitation is it may have difficulties scanning reflective and black surfaces (as does any LED 3D scanner) and completing scans under direct sunlight, so the Einscan HX with its laser module may be more suitable for such projects. 

 

Comparing Einscan Pro HD and EinScan Pro 2X Plus

It is also worth touching on the improvements made to the Einscan Pro HD vs Einscan Pro 2X Plus, so those who still have the old generation model can decide whether to upgrade. Here’s the full review on the differences.

Let’s compare these two scanners from the Pro series in the form of the table:

	Einscan Pro HD	Einscan Pro 2X Plus
OS	Win 10, 64 bit	Win 7, Win 8, Win 10, 64 bit
Weight	1.13 kg	0.8 kg
Supported file formats	OBJ; STL; ASC; PLY; P3; 3MF	OBJ; STL; ASC; PLY; P3; 3MF
Texture scan	Yes (with the color scan module)	Yes (with the color scan module)
Scanning area	209 x 160 mm —  310 x 240 mm	208 x 136 mm —  312 x 204 mm
Connectivity	USB 3.0	USB 2.0, USB 3.0
Min. system requirements	Graphics card: Quadro card P1000 or NVIDIA GTX660 and higher;  VRAM: >4GB;  CPU: I7-8700;  RAM: 8GB and more	Graphics card: NVIDIA GTX 660 and above;  VRAM: >2GB;  CPU: i5 and above;  RAM: 8GB and more
Working distance	510 mm	400–500 mm
Scanning speed	10–30 fps, up to 3,000,000 points/s (Handheld HD Scan mode); up to 1,500,000 points/s (Handheld Rapid Scan mode)	20–30 fps, up to 1, 500,000 points/s
Applications	Education;  Manufacturing and reverse engineering;  Metrology;  Energy field;  Medical sector; Orthopedics and prosthetics;  Architecture; Arts and design.	Education;  Manufacturing and reverse engineering;  Metrology;  Energy field;  Medical sector; Orthopedics and prosthetics;  Architecture; Arts and design.
Accuracy	Up to 0.04 mm	Up to 0.05/0.1/0.2 mm (depending on the mode)
Price	$7,699.00	$6,899.00

Therefore, the Pro HD has some clear advantages over the Pro 2X Plus model, including the increased scanning area, acquisition speed by scanning large objects, improved algorithms of scanning the objects with dark or glossy surface, high resolution support, and efficiency of handheld scanning in the HD mode.

Now, let’s compare the scanning results of both devices to practically confirm the above said.

Einscan Pro HD	Einscan Pro 2X Plus

The machines successfully managed with scanning of a simple object. Interestingly, the Shining 3D Einscan Pro HD did not require markers. 

As for the rest of the results, the Pro HD was better at scanning the more complicated objects compared to the previous model. The edges turned out sharper, the surfaces are smoother, and there are fewer elements that weren’t detected by the scanner. 

The same is relevant for human scanning: the high resolution of the advanced version definitely takes the prize. To find out more about this challenge, read our full comparison review.

To sum up, the Einscan Pro HD provided a better level of detail and surface quality. It also managed to capture hard-to-scan areas that proved its effectiveness compared to the older model.

 

Comparing Shining Einscan Pro HD and Scantech KSCAN20

The Scantech KSCAN20 is a laser 3D scanner with built-in photogrammetry designed for reverse engineering and geometry control. It boasts high accuracy, resolution, functionality, and great price/quality ratio. 

Let’s see how it is similar and different to the Einscan Pro HD:

	Shining Einscan Pro HD	Scantech KSCAN20
Accuracy	Up to 0.04 mm	Up to 0.02 mm
Connectivity	USB	USB
Display	No	No
Technology	Structured light	Laser triangulation, Photogrammetry
Acquisition speed	3,000,000 points/s (Handheld HD Scan mode);  1,500,000 points/s (Handheld Rapid Scan mode)	650,000 points/s
Depth of field	510 mm	550 mm
Max. resolution	0.2 mm	0.05 mm
Output formats	OBJ, STL, ASC, PLY, P3, 3MF	PLY, XYZ, DAE, FBX, MA, OBJ, ASC, STL, etc.
Scanning area	Up to 310 x 240 mm	Up to 550 mm x 600 mm
Texture / Colors	Yes, with Color Pack add-on	No

Thus, both models have certain shortcomings. Although the photogrammetry system of the KSCAN20 makes for wider scan volume and volumetric accuracy, the device is not capable of capturing the texture and color of objects, unlike the reviewed Einscan Pro HD. Besides, the latter outranks the competitor in terms of speed. On the other hand, the Scantech’s machine is better at scanning black and shiny surfaces and does not require matting.

We found this out due to the conducted research of the scanning abilities for both machines. The Scantech KSCAN20 3D scanner was chosen as a reference due to its high accuracy. The quality of scanning was assessed by the color of a scan corresponding to the tolerances: if the color is red, the deviation is more than 1 mm; green — no more than 0.1 mm; yellow — a deviation of about 0.1–0.3 mm; blue — from -0.1 to -0.3 mm.

The scan data analysis proved that the Einscan Pro HD is more than capable of high detail with small objects. Medium-sized products (up to 500 mm) turned out slightly worse. Large-sized objects can also be scanned, but the accuracy might not satisfy the user. Still, the device has a significant advantage in its modular design: the Color Pack texture camera and a turntable with a tripod from the Shining 3D Industrial Pack can really change the game.

 

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Known and reliable manufacturer
• Affordable price
• Fast
• Convenient
• Highly accurate

Cons:

• Color scanning is available only as a paid option
• Scanning dark, reflective, transparent surfaces can be a challenge, so one would need to either apply scanning spray or use a laser 3D scanner instead

 

Bottom line

Source: einscan.com

The Shining Einscan Pro HD is a professional handheld 3D scanner that manages to combine a modern set of features, highly accurate technology, and an affordable price. The device is convenient, covers all the standard requirements for professionals working in various commercial fields. The software that comes with the scanner is highly functional and effective, developed specifically for demanding tasks. It streamlines the scanning process and allows the users to work with the CAD models afterwards. 

The professionals will also enjoy the high speed of scanning and well-designed ergonomics of the device. Scanning large objects with textured surfaces in a few minutes — this is exactly something one would expect from a professional scanner in the 2020s.