3D Scanning of Busts for 3D Printing in the Classroom

[BRUCE WYMAN]

Has anyone had any luck with easy and affordable ways to 3D scan busts (just head & shoulders) in education settings?

I've used a bunch of handheld scanners and had the best luck with the Structure Sensor. I'm looking for something that is easy to use and doesn't cost a lot to do the meshing. I've been using ItSeez3D, but it's $7 per scan for a quick online meshing allowing us to 3D print the .obj file. 

I've also used a full body scanner (Fit3D) and it used to be unlimited scans after you bought the equipment. Now, they have a subscription model at around $100 per month. It yields a 3D printable file as well.

I'd love to hear any success stories that you might have with this.

Best,

Bruce

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Bruce Wyman

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[Lisa Heineman]

I don't have any suggestions, but I am interested in this as well - but for scanning objects. I worked with someone at a local makerspace who scans sculptures and architectural details and then 3D prints and paints them. I am interested in doing this with the painting and decorating teacher at my school. Below is a picture of one of the finished products from the local makerspace.

Lisa Kunkle Heineman, MSME, MEd

Industrial Automation Instructor

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[Castle Kim]

I managed a couple of University Makerspaces, and this was a common question I would encounter from students interested in 3D scanning for 3D printing. 

So far, the best and most promising method I have found is using photogrammetry. Here is a video by Prusa that goes over the process - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D0EhSi-vvc 

The software the video mentions, Meshroom by Alice Vision, is here, https://alicevision.org/

I found this most promising because you can use any smartphone or DSLR to take the photos to make the 3D models. Also, Photogrammetry is a method used in the movie industry for special effects and 3D scanning of sets and spaces, making it well supported and widely utilized. I have ran into so much problems with commercially available 3D scanners with the process of taking the scan and converting it into a printable solid STL.  

Hope this helps! 

Thank you,

Castle Kim 

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[Dov Lebowitz-Nowak]

+1 to the photogrammetry recommendation. I've successfully used almost exactly the workflow outlined in the video both with students and on personal projects. 

I particularly appreciate the photogrammetry process with students since it's not all automatic -- they actually have to think about what they capture and how it might be stitched together and used to derive topography.

That said, Scaniverse (scaniverse.com) is a free mobile app which basically automates the whole thing and will let you export your models directly as OBJ, FBX, USDZ, GLB, and others (yes, including STL). It won't give you anywhere near as much detail as Polycam, but it's FREE, processes everything locally on the device itself, and it can be used on older devices without LiDAR sensors!

Best,

 -Dov

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[Jesse D Robinson]

Hi Bruce,

We just started playing around with scanning technology in my Makerspace.  We bought an Einstar Shining 3D scanner, but we have been most successful with the PolyCam app on the iPhone,   I have included a picture of the most recent scan we did.  We are currently 3D printing the result, so I can follow up on this email in about 3 hours.  ;)

The PolyCam app was ridiculously easy to use.   You do need to upgrade to the pro version if you want to download your model as an STL or OBJ.   I think the Pro version is $199 per year, which isn't too bad.  There is a monthly subscription as well, which is what I am currently using to test the app out.  Thus far,  I'm pretty impressed.

Jesse

On Wed, Oct 8, 2025 at 1:05 PM BRUCE WYMAN <bwym...@gmail.com> wrote:

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[Jesse D Robinson]

The finished 3D Print!

 

[Lucie deLaBruere]

Thanks so much for sharing your journey with 3D scanning.  I had the same inquiry earlier this spring when working with some 3rd and 4th graders on a Covered Bridge project. 

The inquiry lead us to try the Image to 3D models feature of MakerWorld. 

Image to 3D models

https://makerworld.com/en/makerlab

I added a post to my blog to capture our learning about 3D scanning here.  

Inquiry into 3D Scanning for 3D printing

https://createmakelearn.blogspot.com/2025/05/inquiry-into-3d-scanning-for-3d-printing.html

I would love to add the suggestions from this thread to that blog post if that's okay.