1 Topic by edringel

  • edringel
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  • Registered: 2015-11-24
  • Posts: 4

Topic: Scan problems and some mods

I am very new to this and would like some help. Also would like to describe a couple of mods I've made which seem to be very helpful.

With respect to scans-- It seems to me that I have to use very low thresholds and set the threshold setting to "low" to get anything approaching a usable scan. This is the case even if I scan in an absolute dark environment. Anyone have any insight on this?  The second problem I am having with scanning is that I am using two lasers. The base of the scanned image comes out looking good, but there is a tendency for there to be some double images at the top of the scan (bird with two overlapping beaks). The lasers seem to be collimated. Would a wobbly platform do this?

Mods--  Maybe everybody does this and I was just missing something-- I carefully sanded and filed all the touching surfaces for the various camera and laser swivels and then put a TINY (I mean, really tiny) amount of lithium grease on those surfaces (PLA print, can't speak for what would happen with ABS). It has made calibration and precise movement of the camera and lasers much easier and much more accurate.

The final thing I did was to put the Atlas in a largish carton, and put LED units on the sides and top to create very even lighting. I control brightness by using PWM and an Arduino controlling three circuits-- top, high sides, and low sides. This allows me to get very even lighting. The Arduino drives three logic level MOSFETs.  All of this stuff is available cheaply on ebay and the design is not component sensitive.  If anyone is interested, I can post some pictures, Arduino code, and circuit. Scan quality has gone through the roof by doing this, and it's perhaps just $20-30 worth of parts. That's a pretty small fraction of the cost of the Atlas, so I think it is worth considering.

Thank you for answering my questions, and I hope the mods/builds help.

Ed

2 Reply by Mwaypilot

  • Mwaypilot
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  • Registered: 2014-12-31
  • Posts: 43

Re: Scan problems and some mods

Hi Ed
    I am intersested in your light system
I would apreciate a list and diagram of the parts please

Bill

D4S + S3d 18 months and still learning
Filastruder

3 Reply by hairu526

  • hairu526
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  • Registered: 2014-01-28
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Re: Scan problems and some mods

Hi Ed,

Your mods sound pretty cool, I would enjoy seeing them.  In answer to your question, a wobbly table can indeed lead to misalignment between the two lasers.  It is very important the table rotates smoothly in-plane and doesn't wobble.  What version of the software are you using?  The later versions have many improvements related to scan quality and laser alignment.  You can update to the latest version of the software by entering your ATLAS 3D serial number on the Setup page and then clicking the Check for Update link at the top of the page. 

Uriah