CultArc3D_mini: Fully Automatic Zero-Button 3D Replicator

Abstract

3D scanning and 3D printing are two rapidly evolving domains, both generating results with a huge and growing spectrum of applications. Especially in Cultural Heritage, a massive and increasing amount of objects awaits digitization for various purposes, one of them being replication. Yet, current approaches to optical 3D digitization are semi-automatic at best and require great user effort whenever high quality is desired. With our solution we provide the missing link between both domains, and present a fully automatic 3D object replicator which does not require user interaction. The system consists of our photogrammetric 3D scanner CultArc3D_mini that captures an optimal image set for 3D geometry and texture reconstruction and even optical material properties of objects in only minutes, a conveyor system for automatic object feed-in and -out, a 3D printer, and our sensor-based process flow software that handles every single process step of the complex sequence from image acquisition, sensor-based object transportation, 3D reconstruction involving different kinds of calibrations, to 3D printing of the resulting virtual replica immediately after 3D reconstruction. Typically, one-button machines require the user to start the process by interacting over a user interface. Since positioning and pickup of objects is automatically registered, the only thing left for the user to do is placing an object at the entry and retrieving it from the exit after scanning. Shortly after, the 3D replica can be picked up from the 3D printer. Technically, we created a zero-button 3D replicator that provides high throughput digitization in 3D, requiring only minutes per object, and it is publicly showcased in action at 3IT Berlin.