[htraps]

I'd love a 3d scanner that can be used for carving on a 3040 3 axis machine. "3D scanner" brings up a lot but all seem to be scans for 3d printers or 4 axis machines. I imagine the vast majority use 3 axis, but is there any suitable scanners for it? I'm picturing something nut unlike a flatbed scanner but with it moving over the top.

[nitrozeus]

Well If you want to go cheap, cheap... I have had some success with an xbox 360 Kinect, and software called Kscan3D. There are other options also for software. There is also a cheap scanner called a cyclops that uses a camera and two line lasers. I have about 10 hours invested in it and have never gotten a decent scan.
If your interested I can help you along a bit.

[htraps]

Thankyou, I never actually knew the Kinect could be used. I have one for the xbox one laying about somewhere so I will definitely look into the PC adapter and giving it a go. I had seen the Ciclops but it looked like it scanned at such a low angle that it wouldn't be well suited to the task. I also sent a request off to a pro service so waiting to hear back from them, its only a small job, a knife handle but I've no idea what they want for something like this.

[coherent]

I found a Kinect cheap ($10) on craigslist and used it as mentioned for some 3d printer stuff. Worked very well. Never tried it for CNC router objects. You can produce some pretty good 2 1/2D objects for reliefs/carvings with Vectric or Artcam software just by using high contrast black and white photos or adding gradients to shapes/drawings using photo or drawing software. Seems that would work well for producing 2 sides of a knife handle. There are plenty of tutorials on the web explaining how to do so.