A few years ago I bought a structure 3D scanner and started messing around leveraging what 3D scanning had to offer. The structure scanner may not have been a good starting point, great scanner but the accuracy was pretty woeful.

From there I used 123D Catch from Autodesk when it was around before moving to Recap Pro. Recap Pro works quite well if you have the time to take good photos. The Ducati pipes I modelled a while ago were built from a Recap Pro photogrammetry scan, so not too shabby. However, when I'm on site and I need a reference cloud of a HV substation I don't (usually) have the time to gather as many photos required.

Photogrammetry and the structure scanner are "okay" for larger parts/locations, and great for building around a reference, but I needed something with greater accuracy for smaller parts, and for the location of components/mounting holes in mid-sized assemblies.

I'd have liked to have had the budget to afford a FAROarm, like the one I had used working with Ian Patterson, but I ended up purchasing the affordable Einscan Pro+. Purchased through the 3D Printing Superstore.

The first 24 hours with the scanner has shown that the scanner is great, the user on the other hand... Scanning an object requires a good amount of pre-planning and preparation. I've got a fair way to go as I find the limits of the scanner. Meanwhile, Nick over at 3D Scan Expert has given the Pro+ a good working over here if you're curious.

Successfully completing a scan is one thing, producing usable data is another. The next steps will be dragging the scan dat through Inventor/Recap to produce accurate data sets.