3D Printing 3-D Scanning Service?

[lowga]

I have a friend who is great at 3-D Printing. While not a rocketeer, he's more than willing to print anything rocketry related that I need for the cost of filament. He just printed some Centuri nose cones for me which turned out great.

I'd like to have him print a BT-55 sized Honest John nose cone so that I can clone the Estes #1919 kit. I'd also like to duplicate some of the engine retention clips for the Cox Honest John RTF rocket. I have original plastic versions of both but no STL files.

While I've looked at some YouTube videos on how to scan objects using my cell phone and a turntable, I'd rather get professional results. Can anyone recommend a commercial 3-D scanning service who would be willing to 3-D scan these two items and generate STL files? Any idea what this service might cost?

Thanks for any insight you can provide.

 

[Richard Dierking]

Sorry I can't answer your question Les. I'm looking for the same answer and saw your post. In about a month, I'll be looking to get a model of a HL-10 lifting body scanned to create a CAD file. I need different sizes of the HL-10 for flight testing, and because it is a program from the 1960's, only images and drawings are generally available.

I saw the same thing you noticed, the less expensive scanners don't provide enough resolution to be that good. Others start at about $800.

So, maybe my new post will get some attention and we'll obtain advice. If it doesn't, perhaps we can start doing some checking ourselves.
I live in Temecula, CA (Southern California).

Hopefully, someone will post some info; at least what we should be looking forward in a scanning service.

Northrop HL-10 Lifting Body. I just need the basic shape, not the landing gear, etc, but it should be accurate. My final design would be approximately 1:20 scale (13" L x 9" W).

 

[alexzogh]

I have a friend who is great at 3-D Printing. While not a rocketeer, he's more than willing to print anything rocketry related that I need for the cost of filament. He just printed some Centuri nose cones for me which turned out great.

I'd like to have him print a BT-55 sized Honest John nose cone so that I can clone the Estes #1919 kit. I'd also like to duplicate some of the engine retention clips for the Cox Honest John RTF rocket. I have original plastic versions of both but no STL files.

While I've looked at some YouTube videos on how to scan objects using my cell phone and a turntable, I'd rather get professional results. Can anyone recommend a commercial 3-D scanning service who would be willing to 3-D scan these two items and generate STL files? Any idea what this service might cost?

Thanks for any insight you can provide.

You could make one with this nosecone designer script - https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/3d-printing-large-parts.151124/#post-1869674

 

[Richard Dierking]

Looks like with Alex's advice you'll be set Les. Fortunately, many people have completed things like rocket noses and are willing to share.

For me, I obtained 3 quotes for what I need, all within 50 miles of where I live. Again, it's a small and simple scan (see my post above). The quotes were, $500, $250, and Free. Yes, one company is willing to scan the model as a demonstration for their service. I'm pretty happy about that!

I'll be taking the model to them for scanning in about a month.

So, if anyone visits this thread in the future, and you are looking to get something scanned for a rocket part, I suggest checking around. If I didn't obtain the favorable quote, my next step would be to see if several people would like to share in the cost and use of a scanner.