Creality Raptor 3D Scanner - The ‘Only’ Prosumer 3D Scanner
Creality have introduced the Creality Raptor 3D scanner - The “only” prosumer 3D scanner for enthusiasts and small business on a budget.
The new Creality Raptor looks like a fantastic 3D scanner that fits perfectly in between the expensive professional and budget consumer 3D scanner groupings that have been empty for so long.
3D scanning budget gap
Until now, we’ve mostly seen 3DmakerPro and Revopoint scanners that deliver acceptable results in medium/small scanning volumes. These are priced around $300-$900 with a few exceptions. The price and performance has great for what a consumer and hobbyist can expect…
However the quality hasn’t been good enough for professionals that are on a budget and can’t afford the next price tier of 3D scanners like EinScan H2, Artec 3D and similar that start at around $5000 and quickly ends up at $14000 or more.
Creality Raptor enters the market
With a price tag of $1499, the Raptor isn’t cheap, but when we look at it’s features like Hybrid Blue Laser and full color as well as tracking using markers and/or geometry with a sharpness that actually produces sharp details, I get very excited!
Although I haven’t tried it myself yet, I saw it briefly in a livestream from Crealitys 10 year Anniversary and it behaved like a professional scanner when they were showing of scanning. It’s hard to explain, but seeing how it built up raw-data really showed that it’s capable of picking up small details and features.
This is also supported by how a laser generates a much sharper feature to track for the cameras compared to IR-structured light. Meaning that your raw data is sharper, so your meshing gets better.
Creality Raptor Technical Specifications
NIR (Infrared structured light) scanning mode
Accuracy*: Up to 0.10mm
3D Resolution: 0.1 - 2mm
Scanning speed: Up to 20 FPS
Min. Scanning Volume: 150 x 150 x 150mm
Suggested max volume: 2 x 2 x 2m
Single Capture Area: 930 x 580mm at 1000 mm distance
Working distance: 170-|000mm from object.
Color 3D scanning: Yes
Tracking (Alignment) method: Markers, Geometry and Texture
Blue light scanning mode (7-line laser)
Accuracy*: Up to 0.02mm @ 100mm
3D Resolution: 0.02 - 2mm
Scanning speed: Up to 60 FPS
Min. Scanning Volume: 5 x 5 x 5mm
Recommended max volume: 1 x 1 x 1m
Single Capture Area: 270 x 170mm at 300mm distance
Working distance: 150-400mm from object.
Color 3D scanning: Yes
Tracking (Alignment) method: Markers Only
Continued Raptor Technical Specifications
3D Imaging camera resolution: 1920x1200px
Color Supplemental light (color flash type): 12 White LEDs
Marker recognition lights: 12 Infrared LEDs
Laser safety: Class I (eye safe)
Interface: Physical button to start/pause/stop scan
Sensors: IMU - Inertial Measurement Unit to help recover tracking
Software: Not yet to be announced ( Windows 10/11 64 bit or MacOS 11.7.7 and later).
Export formats: STL, OBJ and PLY
Connectivity: Type C/USB3.0 - split with 12B 2A power supply. Wireless scanning in conjunction with future accessories (sold seperatly)
Computer hardware: Intel i7 Gen7 or later, Nvidia GPU (6GB Video memory). 16GB RAM or more (i’d recommend 32-64 for scanning 1 cubic meter or larger.
Examples (from Creality themselves) showing off some really sharp and impressive models. Note the very top left of the plastic part, where some areas are missing. This indicates that you can repair partial meshes without “filling all holes” and it’s a good sign they keep these defects, and show us real-world data.
Hybrid Laser and NIR
The fact that you get both laser scanning and NIR, infrared structured light is fantastic. The laser lets you get crisp and sharp scans of very small objects. You also get the best dimensional accuracy thanks to the markers that are required in this scanning mode. The chance of “slipping” or loosing tracking is near 0 as you can always to back to an area with markers.
However the laser scanning mode does eat up RAM on your computer, and you’re “limited” by how large objects you want to put out markers on and scan. I’d say that you want to keep yourself inside a cubic meter, but I don’t really see a limit why you can’t scan a bit larger.
The NIR is what let’s you scan larger and more freely. With a larger single fram capture area, you will track better on things like humans and large furniture. This scanning mode is less sharp, but allows for more flexibility when scanning. Your dimensional accuracy is lower and will vary a bit for every scan and I’d recommend you to add a 10x (so from 0,1 to 1mm tolerance) when you’re talking to customers.
A big plus is that the NIR can use color texture to help tracking, meaning you’re not only dependent on the actual shape of the object.
The drawback with NIR is that you need to have enough surface to project the infrared light on. So you’re going to want to scan things larger than a shoe for example.
True Calibration Reference
One of the issues of scanning with budget scanners is that you have no control over calibration, you don’t actually know how much the scanner is deviating from the specifications. And this deviation can differ with temperatures and if you’ve dropped or just used the scanner for some time.
The Creality Raptor comes with a glass calibration plate which let’s you calibrate the cameras towards a known surface, which is great to get the software to actually produce sharp scans that you can more or less trust within a certain margin of error.
The unknown software features
As of now, I haven’t had the chance to try this scanner and what others get wrong is the software. Much of the premium of buying and Artec 3D or Shining 3D Einscan 3D scanner is their superb software. I haven’t seen how Creality are solving this, but I hope they do an approach that let’s users access processing at different stages within the post-processing.
Features like editing select holes, spot-healing-tool, decimation with deviation settings and mesh-to-CAD comparison are on top of my wish-list.
Color 3D scanning
For many applications 3D scanning i color is important. Personally I don’t use it that often, but when I do it’s important to consider the scanning process and how “little” you can edit the model and the color still fit. Having a good color capturing sensor (camera) is crucial and it looks like Creality has that in the Raptor 3D scanner.
Capturing color is highly dependent on reflections and environment. So if you want your object to look good in a virtual museum, you have to light it similarly in virtual reality and the real world when you capture it.
This is one of the first cheaper 3D scanners where you can actually expect to scan both smaller and larger objects thanks to it’s hybrid scanning technology otherwise only found in expensive scanners.
Creality Raptor Price and Availability
Ive mentioned it a few times already, but the pricepoint is a game changer compared to what you get. If you’re happy with the results of a $299 3DmakerPro Moose Lite or a $4-500 Revopoint Pop 2 that’s great! But those don’t have the flexibility and reliable accuracy that the Raptor does. And if you want or need those features, you would have to pay upwards of $5000 today.
Therefor the excellent price of $1499 is a game changer. If you’re going to look into buying this 3D scanner - Use my affiliate link below, thank you!
Creality is expecting to start shipping on April 21, 2024 which is basically in a few days!
If you’re interested in learning more about choosing a 3D Scanner for the first time - This article is perfect for you!
