Rubicon 3D
Pros:
1. Small footprint allows it to be placed anywhere
2. A very popular startup product.
Cons:
1. Only small objects can be scanned
2. Design looks a little more basic than other models in its class
The Rubicon 3D is a 3D scanner designed with simplicity of design in mind, which lowers the pricing point significantly and puts most of the device’s power into the software. The design of this scanner is slightly more rudimentary than we have been used to seeing in other models in the under $1500 price range. It is also new to the market, which means it hasn’t had a chance to fully bear out the real world tests that are crucial in determining the true usability, durability and overall market potential of such a risky product. We found it to be promising nonetheless and believe it has enough potential to provide the home enthusiast on a budget a means to have a solid and dependable 3D scanner for smaller applications.
Rubicon Technologies, a company based in Latvia, is still relatively small and in the process of finding its footing in what will quickly become a very competitive market. In the case where a small company with limited resources wishes to have a piece of an industry, it becomes necessary to establish a niche, which is a very important corner of that market that provides that smaller company with a competitive edge. When a company has an extremely affordable product that is capable of producing similar results to others in its class that are often several times more expensive, the niche has been found, and all that remains is to see how well they execute marketing their product’s strong points to the masses. That part will take time and testing.
What we do have in the meantime is a 3D scanner that is capable of quickly and accurately scanning a smaller object that is no bigger than 6 square inches. We also have a very powerful software tool that the company fully demonstrates on their YouTube page, one such video being available for viewing at the bottom of this page. The video completely walks you through the process of scanning and saving scans, as well as making adjustments to files and settings where needed. That software can also work with at least 8 different file types, from STL to XYZ, which makes it just about the most versatile tool you can find.
The speed and accuracy of the Rubicon 3D scanner are also decent. Depending on the quality settings, an object can be scanned in as little as 15 minutes, with a scan resolution of 100 microns and a texture resolution of 5 megapixels, which rivals most entry level digital cameras. You also get 2 560 nanometer lasers with extended focus depth, a 5 megapixel image sensor and a camera with an aspheric lens, which also helps increase depth accuracy and better determine the proportions of the scanned object.
The scanner comes equipped with a high speed USB 2.0 interface and operates on 12 volts and 1.5 amps, making this scanner extremely power efficient as well, which in turn saves you even more money. Although this scanner is still in its beginning product development phases and we can see a lot of room for improvement, it has a lot of promise and a super low price. We couldn’t help but include it in our list of iReviews 2015 best 3D scanners under $1500.
Related YouTube videos:
<a href="http://3d-printers.ireviews.com/rubicon-3d-review"><img src="http://www1.ireviews.com/images/2015-iReviews-bronze-badge.png" alt="Rubicon 3D iReview"/></a>
Rich January 1, 2015
I have seen this scanner reviewed on several websites, and for some reason the quoted/proposed price is always $199. However, on the Rubicon website the price is listed as 499EUR with 42.5EUR shipping. That’s about $650+, not $199.
Editor January 1, 2015
Thank you for pointing this out. The original price quoted was for their kickstarter campaign, but we agree that the price should be updated since the kickstarter has been finished, and it should reflect what is quoted on their website. That update will be applied shortly.
Erin Oliva December 7, 2015
I really want to scan and mesh objects like that vase, objects which have holes in them. It shows in his video that such complex objects can be scanned and meshed with the scanner and provided software. I have tried the Makerbot scanner, and the Matter-and-Form, but I wonder, neither of those scanners can mesh an .stl file of an objects with holes like that vase object. Can anyone tell me? Can this scanner pick up on things like the legs of an action figure and recognize that there is a hole between them when it is meshing or can it only do poor meshes of those kinds of objects and generate huge blobs when you go to mesh objects it has scanned.
Bob February 2, 2016
This scanner is overpriced.
Michel Cuhaci March 4, 2016
I am a Kickstarter backer for this scanner. I tried using many times but was not successful. Don’t know if it is a software or hardware issue, but cannot yet get a clean scan. The lack of clear information does not help the issue and I am not the only one in this situation. The only successful scan I have seen is from Rubicon and another one (the scan of a small cube!) from a Google Rubicon Group user. In my opinion, this scanner is not a final product yet, has probably software and hardware bugs and for sure is missing a comprehensive and clear manual. As a Kickstarter backer, I can accept a failed project but if I had purchased this scanner as a product, I would have been very, very disappointed. Rubicon 3D is not ready for the general public yet!