3D scanners rely on being able to identify physical features of an object, and line up what it saw a moment ago with what it sees now in order to build a 3D model. However, not every object is as distinct and visible as others at all angles, particularly in IR. One solution is reflective scanning markers, which are either pre-printed on a mat, or available as stickers that can be applied to objects to give the scanner a bit more to latch onto, visually speaking.

[firstgizmo] shows a slightly different approach: that of surrounding the object to be scanned with 3D printed reflective markers instead of covering the target object itself with reflectors, or relying on a flat scanning mat.

The main advantage (besides not having to remove stickers from the object afterwards) is that these printed markers present the reflective dots at a variety of angles during the scanning process. This makes the scene less sensitive to scanner angle in general, which is good because the angle at which to scan an important feature of an object is not always the angle that responds best.

By giving the scene more structure, the scanner can have a better shot at scanning reliably even if the reflectors aren’t on the target object itself. It also helps by making it easier to combine multiple scans. The more physical features scans have in common, the easier it is to align them.

Just to be clear, using these means one will, in effect, be 3D scanning the markers along with the target object. But once all the post-processing is done, one simply edits the model to remove everything except the target object.

[firstgizmo]’s DIY magnetic 3D scanning markers are an expanded take on an idea first presented by [Payo], who demonstrates the whole concept wonderfully in the video below.

3D scanning can be tremendously handy but it does have its quirks and limitations, and a tool like this can be the difference between a terrible scan and a serviceable one. For a quick catch-up on 3D scanning and its strengths and limitations, read our hands-on tour of using an all-in-one 3D scanner.

Although arguably redundant on a typical computer keyboard, the idea of embedding small screens into the buttons on devices like audio production gear that often have so many buttons can make a lot of sense. As exemplified by devices with a UX that regularly degrades into scrolling through options on a tiny screen. This was basically the impetus for [Craig J Bishop] a few years ago to set out on a design project called the SoundSlab audio sequencer/sampler/synthesizer and slab that would make those buttons much more functional.

Obviously, the right way to start the project is to bulk buy hundreds of 0.85″ 128×128 LCDs so that you’re firmly locked into that choice. Fortunately, it turned out that the most annoying part of this LCD was the non-standard 0.7 mm pitch on its flat flex cable (FFC). This was worked around with an PCB adapter milled out of some copper-clad FR-1, which gave it a convenient PMOD interface for straightforward hook-up to a Xilinx Artix-7 FPGA board.

The buttons themselves were designed as 3D printed key caps for the LCDs that clipped onto typical Cherry MX-style mechanical keys. This also revealed that the original FFCs were too short, so they had to be replaced with new FFCs, that also adapted it to a standard 0.5 mm pitch. With this a 4×4 button prototype board could be constructed for testing.

Since that prototype [Craig] has built a full-sized SoundSlab grid, with a custom FPGA board and HDMI input, of which a preview can be seen in the post, along with a promise by [Craig] to soon post the rest of the SoundSlab development.

Thanks to [JohnS_AZ] for the tip.

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