Professional 3D Scanners and Their Applications

Used by museums to digitize their collections, by medical professionals to create custom orthotics, and by law enforcement to analyze crime scenes, professional-grade 3D scanners offer more power and precision than ever.

The ones on our list are designed for use in a working environment and offer solid accuracy alongside automated workflows and powerful software.

Professional 3D Scanners

Shining 3D EinScan SP

Several scanners from Chinese manufacturer Shining 3D make our list, but among the most affordable is the EinScan SP desktop scanner. It can scan with or without a turntable and lets you capture objects across a wide range of sizes. Using white light makes this scanner safe and easy to use, while its compact size makes it accessible for hobbyists and classroom settings.

Accuracy up to 0.05 mm
technology Structured Light
Max Scan Area 200 × 150 mm
Market price $1,699

The EinScan software is extremely stable and has an easy-to-use interface, though you’ll need a decent processor to quickly compute meshes.

Shining 3D EinScan H

The EinScan H is characterized by its hybrid light sources and full-color capabilities. Marketed for a wide variety of applications, the scanner is suitable for scanning both people and objects.

Accuracy up to 0.05 mm
technology Structured Light and Laser Triangulation
Max Scan Area780 x 900 mm
Market price$5,000

The EinScan H has two capture technologies integrated into a single device: an infrared source and an LED source. The IR light source is reported to allow the capture of 3D data for hair and other dark objects without straining the eyes too much. The EinScan H is suitable for art, forensics, and healthcare applications.

Peel 3D

Striking a balance between professional capabilities and an affordable price is the purpose-built Peel 1 3D scanner. This scanner still offers some appealing features not found in other devices in the same price range, such as the ability to accurately scan flat or shiny surfaces.

Accuracy up to 0.25 mm
technology Structured Light
Max Scan Area 380 x 380 mm
Market price $5,990 / $7,890

For typical 3D scanning applications, the process is as easy as pointing the scanner at an object and shooting — with little to no preparation required. The Peel 1 gives the best results for objects larger than 30 cm. The same scanner also comes in two other models, the Peel 2 and Peel 2-S.

Polyga Compact S1

The Polyga S1 includes a pair of 1.3-megapixel cameras, a monochrome or color option, and can scan parts up to 12 inches in size. Scan data can be exported to common file formats, including STL.

Accuracy up to 0.04 mm
technology Structured Light
Max Scan Area115 x 100 mm
Market price $6,000

The Compact S1 captures industrial-grade 3D scans of real-world objects, containing 1 to 5 million 3D data points, in a single click. This calibrated machine is designed for reverse engineering and 3D printing, but it also offers scientific measurements for quality inspection and computer vision.

Creaform Academia 20

The Creaform Academia 20 offers a scan area of 143 x 108 mm and captures details as fine as 0.1 mm. Designed for use in university classrooms, the Academia 20 is ideal for scanning small- to medium-sized parts (from 0.05 m to 5 m) and making 3D printing as easy as possible for both teachers and students.

Accuracy up to 0.1 mm
technology Structured Light
Max Scan Area 143 x 108 mm
Market price $7,800

Creaform’s Academia software, which includes a complete 3D application suite, also provides unlimited access to free teaching materials covering scanning, reverse engineering, and inspection, all aligned with industry standards.

Shining 3D EinScan Pro HD

Released in 2020, the EinScan Pro HD aims to deliver advanced performance in capturing high resolution and high accuracy with a handheld device.

Accuracy up to 0.045 mm
technology Structured Light
Max Scan Area 310 x 204 mm
Market price $8,500

The ergonomically designed Pro HD scanner is easy to carry with you wherever you go, and its easy plug-and-play interface lets you operate the scanner without complicated setup.

FARO Freestyle 2

Able to document everything from crime scenes to construction sites, this handheld scanner captures photorealistic 3D reality within a range of 0.4 to 5 meters. A favorite among surveyors, architects, and researchers, the lightweight Freestyle 2 offers a real-time view for on-site inspection and works well in almost any lighting level.

Accuracy up to 0.5 mm
technology laser triangulation
Max Scan Area 4,470 x 5,150 mm
Market price $12,000

Pair this scanner with FARO’s Zone 3D software to build an accurate reconstruction of an incident and produce detailed visuals such as precise 2D and 3D diagrams, animations, and courtroom-ready reports. The latest update, FARO Zone 3D Advanced, can import point cloud data from laser scanners and drones.

FARO Freestyle 2 Promo Video

So far we’ve introduced professional 3D scanners with their key features. Some much more advanced and much more expensive designs also exist for industrial purposes.

Color and Texture Capture

Professional 3D scanners can capture true color and texture information alongside geometry.

Portable Models

Many professional scanners are designed to be handheld and portable for use in fieldwork.

Use in Automotive and Aerospace

Professional 3D scanning systems are widely used in the automotive and aerospace industries for part verification and mold inspection.