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Laser 3D Scanner Producer Stonex Is About to Launch a New, Revolutionary Product

I just love these coincidences that just happen in the 3D printing – and 3D scanning – world. A few days ago I found out about a company called Stonex, and set up an appointment to meet with them. They are a company based near Milan, in the Monza area, that originated as a producer of GPS systems, total stations and other digital instruments for surveying, archeological extraction and renovation, mapping, civil engineering/monitoring and other applications.

stonex 3d scanningAs a natural evolution of its core business, Stonex created the X300, the first compact and lightweight TOF (time of flight) laser scanner. What this means is that it measures a distance by shooting a laser beam out to an object and measuring how long it takes to bounce back. This type of laser scanner does take longer to acquire data but on the up side, it has extremely long ranges. The X300 can capture objects from as far away as 300 meters.

The company also produces its own Stonex Reconstructor software, which is based on the JRC 3D Reconstructor software and was developed, under Stonex guidelines, to apply the convergence between academic know-how and the European Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Ispra (Italy), applying the latest scientific achievements in the Geomatics field into software for wider applications.

scan monza stonex 3d scanning

With the explosion of consumer and prosumer applications of 3D printing and the correlated increase in the use of 3D scanners, Stonex has been focusing on developing products that have a wider appeal (including an Android smartphone). The X300’s price tag is not too far away from that of other quality scanning systems that are making way into the mainstream, such as the Artec, the David Laser Scanner or Creaform and such.

scan brescia stonex

Of course these are very different systems. The X300 is used for creating 3D representations of wider surroundings but its technology allows it to capture every dot of a grid to create a point cloud without interference from outside lighting conditions. Past works accomplished by Stonex include high quality 3D models of some of the many Italian historical landmarks, including, recently, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

Now – here is the coincidence mentioned earlier – the company has announced the launch of a new, revolutionary product on its website, with a ticker counting down, eight days at the time you are reading this. Whether it will be a new, lower cost 3D scanning system to open up the market, or a more advanced, high level system to further reach professionals I don’t know. But I am really curious to find out.