I would like to make a 3D print of head and shoulders

[Anonymous]

I am a retired techie and now a large scale model aircraft builder and flyer and I would like to use a scaled 3D print of my head and shoulders as pilots.

I have a 3D printer, good DSLR, Go Pro.

What is the best way to achieve this?

I have Fusion 360, Recap Pro and Recap Photo.

I am very new to 3D Cad and 3D printing.

Thanks in advance.

Bob Tomlinson

[gerald_chin]

Hi @Anonymous,

To make 3D scans of people, it is advisable to build a specialised rig to mount multiple cameras with hardware that allows the camera to capture simultaneously. Do ensure that there are 60-80% overlap of the images when they are captured. It is not advisable to take the photos for the person by walking around as small differences from the photos will affect the 3D reconstruction via photogrammetry on ReCap Photo.

Alternatively, specialised scanning equipments can be used for this as well and the scan data can be imported into ReCap for cleaning up. 

Hope the above information is of help! 🙂

[Anonymous]

A little bit of background. I owned a professional studio in a country
town for 12 years before selling it.

I was planning on making a "railroad"  on a circular  track around head
poking up in middle, camera on "train" aimed at centerpoint..

Even light is no problem as I could include a diffused torch on the rig.

I imagine I would need the camera slightly above head pointing downwards?

How many photos would you recommend I take for the 360 degs?

Does the focal length of lens affect the translation?

Also what dimensions would you recommend for each frame?

I want to use an Olympus M5 as it has the most useful lens and its 16mp max.

Regards

Bob Tomlinson
--
One crowded hour of glorious life Is worth an age without a name.
(Thomas Mordaunt 1730-1809)

[gerald_chin · Accepted solution]

Hi @Anonymous,

The circular track that would allow for the camera to run around is a good addition, however if the subject of interest moves even the slightest bit, it would affect the reconstruction of the images. Having multiple cameras with a fixed rig would be a better solution for your purpose.

As for the angle where the photo to be taken, do ensure that all angles are taken, not just from the top down, but also bottom up to ensure areas under the chin and the undersides are captured as well. There are no hard rule on how many photos that have to be taken, however, there should be a good overlap (of at least 60% to 80% overlap) of the photos when taken to ensure a good reconstruction. As for the focal length, make sure that all photos are crisps without any depth of field in the foreground or background, I would a say an aperture of around F11 should suffice. Diffused lighting has to be constant for all the photos as well, so that no harsh shadow will be cast. Dimensions of each of the frames will not affect the reconstruction, as ultimately the resolution of the photos are what that is taken into account for the reconstruction.

For more information on good practices for photogrammetry, you can refer to this: https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/recap/learn-explore/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Taking-the-right-pictures-for-use-in-Autodesk-ReCap-Photo-video.html

Do let me know if you got any other queries!

[anil_mistry]

Hi @Anonymous,

I'm just checking in to see if you need more help with this. Did the suggestion that @gerald_chin provided work for you?

If so, please click Accept as Solution on the posts that helped you so others in the community can find them easily.

[anil_mistry]

Hi @Anonymous,

I am checking back to see if one of the great posts in this thread helped you with your question. If so, please take a moment to reward the poster or posters with a Kudos and select the Accept as Solution button on those posts that helped.

Thank you and have a great day!