This post covers several reasons your company should hire a professional 3D scan cleanup service. Technological changes are on the rise, and as a result, the IT industry also continues to move forward. However, with breakthroughs being introduced by the day, people cannot help but wonder if the old technological changes can be discarded to pave the way for the latest developments. One service that is starting to make its mark is none other than 3D scan cleanup, facilitated by 3D scanning service experts.
Even though 3D scan cleanups might not be as ubiquitous and prevalent as other services, their impact is expected to revolutionize how people perceive 3D models in cinematography, gaming, and various other industries. 3D scan cleanup services are also gaining a higher demand for showcasing different eCommerce products and beyond, proving their crucial role in these modern times. Continue reading below to learn the top reasons why your company or firm should hire a professional 3D scan cleanup service sooner than later.
Table of Contents
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What is 3D scan cleanup?
The process of 3D scan cleanup is a very critical step that any 3D scanned mesh needs to go through following a 3D capture. The 3D scan cleanup process should also begin earlier than you think. Once the 3D capture process is done, you might be surprised to discover that several areas of the subject were occluded from the camera view and weren’t captured at all.
Despite using the finest equipment and the best photogrammetry system, there are times when there will be some missing data, and someone needs to put in the time to interpret, analyze, and perform a 3D scan cleanup on these areas. Some fixes can be done to the scanning rig to ensure you will get good value from the money invested in 3D scanning services to get the 3D scans you need.
3D scan cleanup service pipeline
Although there are numerous pipelines and approaches for professional 3D scan cleanup services, you might find a more generalized algorithm involving the steps below, depending on your specific purpose:
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1. Initial preparation
Before cleaning your raw 3D scans, planning and researching each step meticulously to ensure every detail is noticed is crucial. You may encounter two scenarios when working with raw 3D scans obtained through photogrammetry. In the first scenario, you can capture 30 to 250 high-quality photos of physical objects from various angles and utilize your preferred software to convert them into raw 3D scans. In the second scenario, you already have all the necessary photos, and your objective is to transform them into 3D scans through specific procedures or events.
Regardless of the scenario, the resulting raw 3D files will likely contain geometry issues and exhibit a noticeably high polygon count. In this situation, the expertise of 3D scan to CAD drafting and design services becomes invaluable. These services can assist in resolving the geometry issues and optimizing the raw 3D models for further use, ensuring that the resulting 3D models are of high quality and suitable for their intended purposes.
2. Geometry optimization
Due to the high polycount and geometry issues, the next step is to optimize the automatically produced muddled 3D data extracted from tons of photos. Although the obtained 3D scans of the objects are often too rich in detail, the geometry is probably chaotic. As expected, it will cause some troubles concerning texturing and further retopology.
The rule is for 3D modeling artists to complete the stage using dedicated software. They will fix the object’s geometry and lower the polycount to meet a sensible number of vertices, specifically if the final model will be animated or integrated into a game engine.
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3. 3D mesh retopology
The third stage often happens in 3D modeling software. In this stage, the 3D modeling designer will apply the so-called retopology to simplify an excessively complex 3D model into low-resolution mesh polygons to work on it more easily. Due to the time required for this process, the concerned modeling community has developed several plugins to make the procedure more apparent.
When it comes to raw 3D scan cleanup, retopology is an essential step that comes before UV mapping and texturing. The subsequent phases will only become an absolute nightmare without retopology. They will overload the graphics card and central processor, resulting in a rough final 3D model with broken textures.
4. UV mapping
After fixing the retopology with automatic or manual retopology, which depends on the specific purpose, it is time to unwrap the scan in 3D modeling software. But first, you should know what UV mapping and unwrapping services entail. In the realm of 3D modeling, a UV map takes on a distinct role as it represents the surface of a 3D model flatly, facilitating the precise and efficient wrapping of textures.
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This terminological concept ensures that textures align seamlessly with the model’s surface, resulting in a visually appealing and optimized representation. On the other hand, UV unwrapping refers to the process behind developing a relevant map. UV mapping will step in last if the 3D scanning expert transforms the 3D mesh to 2D data to paint on it with two-dimensional textures. The process is known as wrapping since the mesh looks a 2D texture was wrapped around it.
5. Texturing
Texturing typically takes place in professional software. Here, the 3D scanning designer will either generate a completely new texture or fix the existing one, depending on whether a raw 3D scan is a naked statue or already comes with it. However, texturing is no longer necessary if you need a 3D scan cleanup to use the model on websites or print it on a 3D printer.
But still, if you need to integrate the scan into a game engine made fully interactable and animated, the work might continue in several directions simultaneously. In cases like this, 3D scan designers will use rigging and skinning after texturing to provide bones to the model that will be animated and set in the 3D scene within a game engine.
Are 3D scan cleanups always necessary?
3D scan cleanups are and will always be necessary. Considering the pace at which humankind aims to simplify and automate every process, 3D scanning is yet to gain moment. Companies and businesses continue to evolve, and with this comes the need for 3D product visualization services by a professional product concept design company. Just look at the big brands like Gucci and Nike that already established their presence in the current eCommerce market and the upcoming rise of the Metaverse.
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It also goes for car configurators and other software with a purpose that involves showcasing products most advantageously. Static product displays on websites, their ability to rotate in 360 degrees, and even physical sculptures printed using 3D printers are some of the best examples where professional 3D scan cleanup services may come in handy for different sizes and scales of businesses today.
Even if there is no way that 3D scanning services will completely replace traditional 3D modeling because of the lack of creativity and the capacity to recreate only actual objects, 3D scanning technology will probably always be in demand in other niches and fields.
More tips on professional 3D scan cleanups
Again, it is essential to remember what 3D scan cleanup presupposes. The phenomenon is known as photogrammetry, or the technique where 3D data is extracted from several photos taken from various angles. These images can then be used afterward to produce 3D models using dedicated software for the job. For the scans to be optimized for software and game engines and look hyper-realistic, 3D scanning experts use many approaches and tools to reduce the polygon count, enhance the geometry, retexture the scan, and more. The following are other things you can do to improve the workflow of the 3D scan cleanup process:
Optimize the 3D scan’s number of vertices
A scanned model is filled with unnecessary details after photogrammetry that can result in the appearance of numerous polygons. Lowering the polycount using 3D modeling software for your final model to be more optimized for further animation and game engines is essential.
Use a 3D modeling software’s sculpt mode
3D scanning designers can use sculpting to lower the number of redundant curves or bulges to make the geometry look smoother.
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Refer to the automated mesh retopology
Expert 3D model sculpting designers specializing in professional 3D scan cleanup services prefer using automated mesh retopology wherever possible to prepare the raw scan for additional texturing. The process cuts down the time that would have been spent on every model.
Common uses and applications of 3D scan cleanup
3D scans and 3D scanning services are in demand in almost all industries that require 3D visualization across three dimensions. But most of the time, you might encounter cleaned-up 3D scans that come in the form of final models seen on websites and on video games, commercials, cinematics, MR/AR/VR apps, and more.
Other typical applications of 3D scanning technology involve printed sculptures as statues for collectors. Aside from these, hyper-realistic 3D scans are now used in prototype design services for manufacturing, prosthetics, orthotics, cultural heritage documentation, robotics, and more. 3D scan cleanup services have infinite use cases and are expected to grow and expand as humankind advances and moves into the future.
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How Cad Crowd can help
3D scanning doesn’t have to be a complicated process. It can be straightforward and stress-free—which is what the team at Cad Crowd strives to accomplish for each client we take on. We know that you have a lot to manage as a business owner. Contact us for a free quote.
