Formnext 2024 wrapped up recently, with companies introducing new products spanning the entire additive manufacturing ecosystem. One particularly interesting launch came from 3D scanner manufacturer 3DMakerpro, which unveiled the Eagle, its new LiDAR-based spatial scanner for indoor and outdoor spaces.
During the Frankfurt-based show, 3D Printing Industry sat down with Tianshi Yuwen, Global Marketing Director, and Luo Wei, Head of 3DMakerpro’s R&D Department. They highlighted that the Eagle stands out within the 3D scanner market thanks to its extensive scanning range, portability, impressive full-color texture cameras, and ability to function in a range of environments. Additionally, the discussion outlined novel 3D scanning applications, with 3DMakerpro expanding beyond the hobbyist space into the industrial manufacturing and real estate markets.
Yuwen and Wei also offered a sneak preview of 3DMakerpro’s upcoming launches, including a new consumer-grade 3D scanner as well as the company’s entry into the medical sector. “We believe spatial scanning is really important, and one of the major scenarios we anticipate in the near future,” added Yuwen.
Set to launch on Kickstarter soon, there will reportedly be a “huge price gap between the Eagle and other spatial scanners,” explained Yuwen. This will lower the barrier of entry to 3D scanning indoor and outdoor spaces. The launch price for the Eagle will be between $1500 and $2500.
Besides the Eagle, 3DMakerpo also showcased an additional “station spatial scanner” at its Formnext booth. While details on this product, which is larger than the Eagle, are currently limited, Yuwen explained it will incorporate more advanced features for even higher-quality scanning. This scanner will be introduced following the official launch of the Eagle.
Introducing the 3DMakerpro Eagle spatial scanner
The Eagle marks a distinct shift away from 3DMakerpro’s existing product portfolio of consumer-grade products, including its Moose, Whale, Mole, Lynx, and Seal 3D scanners. Yuwen outlined that the new offering does not focus on capturing single objects, but is designed as a 3D scanner “for the whole environment.”
By combining a 905 nm laser light source with four high-quality 48MP texture cameras, 3DMakerpro’s Eagle offers a scanning range of between 80 and 140 meters and a scan radius of up to 70 meters. It can achieve 3D scanning accuracy of 2cm at 10 meters, 3cm at 20 meters, and 5cm at 40 meters. This allows users to capture various internal and external environments, ranging from factories and production facilities to luxury apartments and mines.
A key advantage of the Eagle is its 12000 milliampere-hours (MAH) built-in battery source. Unlike previous 3DMakerpro scanners, which must be connected to a power source during use, the new system supports one hour of wireless 3D scanning. This enhances its flexibility, offering greater freedom for users wanting to capture complex spaces in hard-to-reach areas.
Measuring 115mm x 181mm x 106mm and weighing just 1.5kg, the Eagle is a handheld product optimized for on-the-go scanning in a variety of spaces. “You can simply hold the scanner, walk around the city and street, capture the desired environments, and quickly generate a point cloud for the 3D model,” commented Yuwen. The Eagle can capture 200,000 data points per second.
3DMakerpro offers proprietary software for the Eagle, which can export 3D data in color point, colored, gaussian splatting, and panoramic tour data PLY and OBJ file formats. Notably, Yuwen explained that the company is currently developing a new data exchange platform to support the needs of spatial scanning. “With spatial scanning, users have more data and may want to make modifications to the 3D models,” explained 3DMakerpro’s Marketing Director. “So we are currently testing the platform for that software.”
Unlocking new 3D scanning applications
According to Yuwen, 3DMakerpro has witnessed a growing demand for affordable spatial scanning capabilities since 2023. As such, the company began to invest time and money in research and development (R&D) of this technology and evaluated the spatial scanning market.
The decision was made to move beyond 3D scanners for single objects, with the company working to “expand the user scenarios to expand more possibilities for the 3D scanning industry,” stated Yuwen. Luo Wei added that there is a gap in the market for spatial 3D scanners. “There are not a lot of brands, companies or products focusing on this space,” explained Wei. “So we are trying to build up these capabilities by doing the investment and development ourselves.”
One key application highlighted by Yuwen and Wei relates to the real estate market. The interior and exterior of homes and apartments can be accurately mapped and converted into 3D models using the Eagle. These can then be used by agents and developers when showcasing real estate to prospective clients.
They pointed to digital twins and digital assets as additional use cases for the eagle. 3DMakerpro has already received interest from customers wanting to digitize their factories to optimize floorplan efficiency and quality control.
Demand has also come from the mining sector. Yuwen explained that it can take months for companies which are running mines around the world to get accurate feedback and quality reports. “You cannot just fly out to these mines every day,” explained Yuwen. The Eagle scanner therefore allows these clients to collect data and create detailed 3D models which can later be used to visualize and fix issues from any location.
Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) markets are also growing rapidly within the tech industry. Wei emphasized that the Eagle is set to become a unique content-creation device for VR and 3D filmmaking applications.
Wei expressed his intentions to develop a “3D action camera” in the future to further address these creative applications. He believes 3D modelling will become a major medium for expressing content, with 3D scanning set to play a key role in supporting this. Yuwen concurred with his assessment, tracing the evolution of visual expression from “pictures, to digital images, to videos and now to three dimensions.”
The future of 3DMakerpro
What does 3DMakerpro’s future trajectory look like? Yuwen explained that the company has “two directions,” one focuses on its consumer-grade produce portfolio, while the other targets “more advanced technology.”
On the consumer side, Yuwen teased that 3DMakerpro will launch a new 3D scanner next year which will add to its existing low-cost, high-precision portfolio. According to Yuwen, this is set to be the “true definition of consumer-grade,” further increasing accessibility to 3D scanning to more people.
On the other hand, Yuwen noted that 3DMakerpro is also working on developing a 3D scanner for medical applications, representing the company’s debut in the healthcare industry. He also pointed to a new “all-in-one 3D scanner,” which has been in development since the end of last year. This is set to include “features that users haven’t seen before,” offering “more advanced technology and greater 3D scanning possibilities.”
Technical specifications of the 3DMakerpro Eagle scanner
| Accuracy | 2cm for 10 meters, 3cm for 20 meters, 5cm for 40 meters |
| Scan radius | 40-70 meters (>10% reflectivity or >80% reflectivity) |
| Scan range | 10-140 meters |
| Scan angle | Horizontal 360°, Vertical 59° |
| Point cloud frequency | 200,000 points/second |
| Laser light source | 905 nm |
| Eye safety level | Class 1 (IEC60825-1:2014) Eye Safety |
| Color texture | 48MP 4-camera system, 360° x 300° support 16K panoramic photo output |
| HDR mode | Support (3-5 exposure values) |
| Data interface | USB-Type C x 2 |
| Network support | Wi-Fi 5 |
| Screen size | 3.5” |
| Output format | 3D Color Point Cloud PLY 3D Gaussian Splatting PLY 3D Colored Polygonal Model OBJ 3D Panoramic Tour Data (OBJ) |
| Built-in battery | 12000 mah, supports 1 hour of work, supports external power supply while charging |
| Volume | 115mm x 181mm x 107mm |
| Weight | 1.5 kg |
| Configuration | 8 Cores 2.4GHz 32GB (Supports TF card expansion) |
All the news from Formnext 2024.
Who are the leaders in additive manufacturing? Vote now in the 2024 3D Printing Industry Awards!
Subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry newsletter to keep up with the latest 3D printing news.
You can also follow us on Twitter, like our Facebook page, and subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry Youtube channel to access more exclusive content.
Featured image shows 3DMakerpro’s new Eagle spatial scanner (left) and future spatial scanner model (right) at Formnext 2024. Photo by 3D Printing Industry.
