PolyCam is free. You can also use photogrammetry and free software to model it yourself. It’s not complicated but takes a beefy computer.
this post was submitted on 15 Nov 2025
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I've dabbled, but based on my results I feel like dedicated hardware would provide enough benefit to justify. My computer is reasonably beefy, but I'd rather pair that with a beefy front end.
I guess iphone (one with lidar, so one of the pro models, but it can be as old as 12) with a 3d scanning app might be the best general purpose in this price range...
Whats also interesting are diy rotating bed scanners like https://fabscan.org/ which come at 200-400$
There are a ton of apps and rotating table diy scanners so you can look around.
Afaik hand guided 3d scanners are way more expensive and start at like 3000$.
EDIT:
some quick googling showed relatively positive sentiment about the rebopoint products. There is one that is exactly 1k https://www.revopoint3d.com/products/3d-laser-scanner-metrox but you're in for a software license subscribtion after a year of included use...
Yeah that's why I asked this here instead of just googling reddit. Subscription models are very much not my vibe, I like buying a thing and consequentially owning that thing.
Although I kinda have the ick with Apple, I've never used their products and I can't really imagine starting now.
I'm not going to try to dissuade you from getting a 3D scanner, but for functional prints a pair of calipers, some radius gauges, and a profile gauge will you really far. Once you get some reps in with CAD it also won't take you long to model your designs. CAD is a great skill to learn and as you do this again and again you'll start modifying your designs to make them easier to print.
Yeah that's what I've done so far, but anything that's not made of a few simple shapes gets annoying real fast. Compound curves, tons of details, and organic shapes are more time commitment than I'm willing to spend modeling from scratch.
I wonder if it will be less annoying with a point cloud. You'll still need to model it, only with a digital reference, correct?
Check out Revopoint, they have scanners in this price range
That was the main brand I was looking at, still it's difficult to decide between the options.
I picked up a used Revopoint Metro X with accessories for ~$600 a little while ago. There's quite a learning curve to getting a good scan quickly but a couple afternoons of practice were enough to figure it out. The turntable is pretty flaky (random bluetooth disconnects) but the scanner itself is great.