What about a 3D scanner

Sorry for my english, this isn't my native language, and sorry for my ask, maybe someone asked you the same before but, why don't include a 3D scanner like this one [www.instructables.com] to the next version of the RepRap...more than a 3D printer : a 3D multifunction printer.
I'm expecting for the Fax...

... maybe you should read through this posts: [forums.reprap.org]

Viktor

The short answer is "I'm working on it".

I'm doing a PhD as an excuse to do just that. I hope to have some software ready for general public testing near the end of the year that will allow you to take photos of an object from different angles with a digital camera and create a 3D virtual object that can be further massaged with 3D design tools or directly loaded into the Reprap host software and printed out.

I'm working on this at this moment. But I'm basing my 3d scanner design on [www.instructables.com]

My design is basically, a dc motor runs a gear, which runs to a large gear (stepping down the speed of it's rotation). which runs onto a large platform with geared sides. The platform floats on a rotating bearing. It will also include a small cradle for a lase pointer and wine glass. All parts are reprappable apart from the bearing, bolts, dc motor, laser and glass. I have it all designed on paper, currently it's all about building the models in solidworks.

So Reece, you've tried the software?
was it working in any way?

Could you get hold of any mathsources...
Let us know about those photometrics
Looks and sounds very interesting.

Laser scanners are "quite simple" to do, taking nothing but a linelaser (the one you'll find in the hardware store for cheap) and david (david is a laserscanning software) but I guess it'll be hard to mount something like that to a reprap.
In fact never thought of it seriously.

I guess the easiest way for a 3d scanner mounted to a reprap is just a probehead and software.
Very old school, I know
No fancy lasers either, true.

But cheap and very effective

'sid