The best budget 3D scanner in 2023 / 2024? Einstar Scanner Review

I was on the hunt for the best budget 3D scanner to add to my garage in 2023. After a lot of research and years of waiting, I discovered the Einstar 3D Scanner from Shining 3D. It fit my budget, but seemed like it did a better job scanning cars and trucks than the comparible Revopoint and Creality scanners under $1000. Is it worth it to add to the toolbox?
Einstar Scanner on Amazon: amzn.to/47SjzBb
THE BIGGEST CON: I accidentally left this part of the video out. But the biggest con is hardware requirements in a computer. Whether it be a laptop or desktop, you’ll want to make sure you have a fairly good computer with a lot of RAM and a good Nvidia (required brand) GPU. I chose to go with a laptop, for ease of mobility between the house and shop, but a desktop or mobile desktop set up will be easiest to upgrade if needed.
My Laptop I use: amzn.to/3QgWJfY
Learn Everything About Design: • 3D Scan to Part Series...
Making for Motorsport's Review: • The best Consumer 3D S...
SuperfastMatt's Review: • It’s Time To Put A 3D ...
Einstar Facebook Group: groups/67351...
//The Adventurous Mind - advmnd.us
My Outdoor Apparel Brand & Free Digital Downloads - 25% profit goes towards Forest Fire Recovery
//My Socials
Instagram: / adv_mnd
TikTok: / adv_mnd
//Current Camera, Camp and Dog gear
Amazon Storefront - www.amazon.com/shop/theadvent...
//All The Gear I Use
○ Camera - amzn.to/41pTZAq
○ Wide Angle Lens - amzn.to/3XWA1dN
○ Wireless Mic - amzn.to/3vrodEy
○ Studio Light - amzn.to/3WE3pWg
DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you. This commission helps the channel grow so I can provide more free content for your use.
//Contact
For business inquires only, please use this email: [e-mail]
For more DIY videos and Overland Vlogs, make sure you Subscribe to my channel!

[@FarmGarageSolutions]

Thank you keep the content coming!! I watched it start to finish. You sold me on that model they should pay you!!

[@daviddavis1322]

Fantastic video man. Great explanations of how to problem solve and a sample workflow. Killer stuff bud.

[@adv_mnd]

Thank you! I appreciate the kind words

[@fredtorres1703]

thanks. This was great. Better than school!

[@macknorris4005]

Thank you for putting together such a great video!!! I recently purchased an Einstar 3D scanner but have really struggled with it. I will try your settings. Also, you explained what I believe has been the hardest part of the whole process which is aligning the scan to the UCS for importing the file into a 3D CAD package! Huge Thanks! This has helped me tremendously!

[@adv_mnd]

Thanks for the kind words! And yea, aligning to the UCS, or getting as close as possible helps so much when bringing it in to a CAD program. Once you know how it works, you can do things like setting tape or markers to get edges for things like the plane/line/point. 👍

[@user-zc1li9rj8r]

Great ! Great ! Great ! I saw a lot of tutorials for this Einstar scanner, Your video is really the beast. You ansewered nearly all my questions. I must face a project for scan a tank, and the people from Shinning company here in Spain do not recomend this scanner because of "Nont enought resolution" but you demostrate it will be done. Thanks so much for your professional work. Good luck with the bumper !

[@adv_mnd]

Glad that you found the video helpful! And thank you for the kind words!

[@jordancloutier20]

Great video! Love seeing reverse engineering with Einstar and Fusion 360. With bigger scans I would try to simplify as much as you are comfortable with. The less triangles and points that i have had the better the EXStar software and Fusion 360 work for me. Fun Tip: Double tap middle button to switch your zoom buttons to brightness adjusters, this helps when needing to adjust on the fly.

[@DPaulk87]

Great video! I bought a different budget scanner last year for the same use case: designing parts for my GX 470 and Boxster. Keep it up and I'll look forward to seeing more content similar to this. Mesh Lab content would be amazing! I've dabbled with it a little. But it is a very daunting program. And every time I pick up a little steam, I end up getting distracted by something else in life. By the time i get back to it I've forgotten all the tricks. I would love to some videos of real world usage instead of just figurines and random miniature landscapes. 😅

[@DJ-yp4kc]

Thanks for the Video!

[@ethanbennett7401]

Pretty awesome tool. Looking forward to seeing the bumper design.

[@adv_mnd]

You and me both! Thanks!

[@dc3ddesign399]

Nice video, if you have the space, duplicate your scans so you have a master copy and one to mess with. I learnt the hard way with that one! The software managed to lose half my point cloud once and completely broke it. Wasn't much fun when I had to go back to a customer to scan the car again

[@wernergruber5051]

Thanks for this super-cool video you made! Einstar should give you some money for showing how to use their product! thanks a lot

[@dacat8171]

Good job!

[@mayamanign]

Its not only worth it, i wish i had gotten it sooner. The correct answer is YES.

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Cool project and thanks for the channel Shout Out!

[@adv_mnd]

Thanks! and no problem! I've had a lot of help from your videos and wanted to share the love!

[@pancho.shepherd]

Amazing video mate, thanks a lot! Would be awesome to see you playing around in Fusion 360 while developing a rear bar using the 3d model!

[@7thgeargarage]

Waiting for the bumper video. :)

[@alexoconnell2235]

Nice vid! Definitely helped me out! What resolution scan would you suggest for scanning mounting holes in an engine bay?

[@Payton_Isbell]

This scanner have changed my life

[@kewkew2]

Very cool. I 3d printed a wireless charger for my sequoia

[@gg48gg]

Good content and presentation. More of a how to use video vs a review but valuable information especially after purchasing one. A review video would ideally be more comparative to other purchase options. Thank you!

[@michaeleguillen]

Sicky Gnar Gnar review of this scanner Dave 👍

[@adv_mnd]

YHC Mexi?!

[@superuser13]

Excellent video, finally a real review of a real tool, scanning real projects instead of toy's scanning toy's. ps. I hope your getting paid for the no less than 4 commercial adds interrupting you video content.

[@stevesloan6775]

First time seeing your channel. I do like this model Einstar. Building on something awesome. I’m researching 3d scanners at the moment. This one has to be king for automotive applications.😊 He I figure it might of helped if you rotated your second model 180 degrees before applying the simple alignment function. Constructive criticism 🤜🏼🤛🏼😎🍀🇦🇺☮️☮️☮️

[@user-zo5wy8du4i]

Hi, 1st thank you for this amazing video. 2ndly, please make a video of when and how you design the bumper. and i still cant understand how it will be made? like pieces of metal and then weld them togather, or will it be a fiberglass one piece. Please explain a little what can one do after this scaning part. thank you.

[@marcsole1810]

Hello, very nice video! I'm thinking of getting one of those for a camping van project. Do you think it can handle a scan of the inside of a van? I want the scan as a basis for designing the furniture. Thanks!

[@SD_48]

2:55 Takes the saying "pampering your baby" to a whole new level : )

[@rsstnnr76]

Great video. I'm new to the world of 3D printing, scanning, etc. I'd love to know more about what you do with this once you've created the scan. I have a specific use case. I want to scan odd-shaped pieces of wood (long story). They are pretty small ... maybe 6-10 inches. Would this scanner be good for doing that? If so, do these scanners allow you to scan all angles of something? The pieces of wood have lots of bends, overhangs, etc.

[@paolod853]

I had to immediately buy another pc with intel i 9 , ge force best on the market etc because mine i7 was keeping freeze everytime, not to mention the mandatory white paint and lots of stickers to avoid the tedious loss of tracking

[@antonstayduhar8748]

I pitched one of these barely used months ago for commercial work but yet to use it. I am worried about the numerous mentions (elsewhere) of how important to notch video cards etc are to functional use of this scanner. I have an HP Z Book workstation laptop, about 4 years old, equipped with a lightweight Nvidia Quadro GPU. Fingers crossed it'll do the job. My work only requires scanning very, very infrequently. Last time, about 5 years ago. 😅 I used a David structured light scanner.

[@stephenedwards3397]

When your auto align failed, you could very possibly overcome that by making the view of the two scans in their relevant windows to be approximately the same. You had them at different alignments. I find getting them to look the same with similar zoom factors allows the auto align to work more or less 100% of the time.

[@DannoHung]

That’s a great tip, but it’s annoying that they don’t tell you to approximately align manually first!

[@bens3641]

Any update for the Sequoia bumper? I was hoping to see how you developed the CAD in Fusion.

[@3-body-problem]

RAM upgrades are so damn cheap these day. That should be a must when buying any 3D scanner.

[@SpiritTracks95]

please make more videos with this scanner and the programs you use to edit, design etc. :D

[@adv_mnd]

Glad you liked it! I’ll definitely try to incorporate all of this more in to future vids. Thanks!

[@davidmendez1859]

Great video!! Just ordered mine and looking forward to it. Coming from a Creality Lizard I know this will be a great upgrade. Noticed there's a new version of the software would seems it would increase productivity and help with the little hiccups you discovered.

[@adv_mnd]

Oh thanks! I’ll have to look at that update!!

[@MongoTom-ml8re]

Is it possible to scan with it using usual laptop and then get it on better pc for processing?

[@meade916]

your mic sounds terrible. I bought the same one and I HATE the way it sounds. There has to be a way to make it better since it seems like such a nice setup.

[@adv_mnd]

It sounds better than my other Rode mics, but I agree that there is definitely room for improvement. I appreciate the criticism though and I’ll try to look up some ways to improve that. Usually, I have been doing more plug and play with it and haven’t messed with gain adjustments or any of that yet.

[@meade916]

@@adv_mnd not trying to criticize at all bro. If anything it just tells me that I am not crazy because I don't know why my mics sound like that. I have a lot of noise in my shop so I figured the noise cancelling was doing that. If you figure something out about it that I didn't so far, let me know! Thanks man!

[@adv_mnd]

Oh I didn’t mean criticize in a negative way at all. It’s good feedback. I’m always looking to improve! I appreciate it. Time to figure out this pesky mic! LOL

[@eduardomartins97]

This scanner is really good compared to its price, I had a creality lizard, then swapped for einstar, it worth. Its stability and tracking reliability is the best.

[@andyh8239]

With this scanner being over a year old now; is it still worth buying, and is an updated model around the corner?

[@levmans8865]

Hey nice video mate. I just want to say that program error is some kind of random thing and it doesn't mean model was big or you did something right or wrong. I'd say there were some two points interferring with eachother(maybe) and program crashed. Saying this as I've scanned my car fully in one pass and had much bigger cloud data and it still did meshing without error for some luck :)) Hope they will fix exstar sometime. Good luck with your projects.

[@m0r0gu3]

You might have a much better computer…

[@user-od6gi4lz8t]

Nice video, what are the specs of your notebook?

[@adv_mnd]

Shoot! I re-edited most of this video from my original, and forgot to put that part back in LOL! I added a link to my exact laptop in the details, but its an MSI Stealth 17 Studio / i9 - 13900H / NVIDIA RTX 4080 / 32GB RAM

[@m4rvinmartian]

*3:00** "Full color scanner".. Here, spray white powder over everything!*

[@adv_mnd]

I turned off texture/color anyways because I didn’t need it. I don’t need pretty colors when bringing it in to Fusion360

[@fredteo637]

Hi, thanks for the video. Mind to tell about spec for your laptop? What would you suggest?

[@adv_mnd]

In the description, I have a link to my exact laptop. It gets me by, but if you can afford the difference to get 64GB, I’d recommend that as an upgrade above mine.

[@fredteo637]

@@adv_mnd Thanks for the reply. 😎👍

[@fredteo637]

@@adv_mnd Hi, I’ve got a question for ya. Do you use Fusion 360 only with your laptop? How about Solidworks?

[@gunlover7851]

I want to start scanning car and truck cargo areas to make speaker boxes that fit nice and snug. You think this is a good scanner for this? I will have them manufacturer at that point.

[@adv_mnd]

As long as you have good features to track, it’s very accurate. I’m using it initially for this bumper where I’ll first verify the bolt holes. Everything I’ve verified so far is accurate. I plan to do a rear seat delete on my tundra and I’ll be using this to scan the interior for a platform.

[@thonvuth809]

❤❤

[@noxix7641]

You shouldn't have to apply powder on that. That surface is not what would be considered glossy for scanning. But I suppose if it doesn't use targets, that could be an issue. Rudimentary software, but considering it's under a grand, not terrible.

[@Todestelzer]

It’s the same software 15k scanners from shining are using. Compared to other sub 1k scanners it’s the best available.

[@stevesloan6775]

Your zero-zero, should be based on the actual level at ride hight. Chassis rails normal are subject to level. 🇦🇺🤜🏼🤛🏼💙😎🍀☮️☮️☮️☮️

[@hyper_active_snail]

So, did you design/build the bumper or is this still work in progress?

[@adv_mnd]

Still ongoing. Had to pause on some items, to take care of some health/personal things. Planning to start filming more videos this next week though, now that summer is here!

[@ttv_dominic_f3137]

Hey mate when you save it in a mesh what file you save it as ?

[@adv_mnd]

I personally export as an STL. Browsing the forums, it seems that’s the go-to file type by many. I think the OBJ can export color information, but I don’t think the CAD programs can display the colors anyways. I don’t have experience with that though since it isn’t my workflow

[@brandonz2]

What alcohol did you use? It is better to get something like 90% to evaporate faster (than 70%)?

[@adv_mnd]

I got just isopropyl alcohol from Walmart as I passed by a shelf 😂. I think it was 50% and still evaporated fast enough for me with what I was doing.

[@brandonz2]

@@adv_mnd was it easy to clean off? I've read where it was a bit of a pain to get off and needed sprayed with a cleaner. Seems like it should wipe off easy so I'm not sure what they used

[@stevesloan6775]

I was wondering about your computer setup the whole way through your video. I thought before asking I’d look at your full description. Thanks for saying you didn’t mention it in the video. But you should of given your computers full spec… that way I could judge how much more I should invest in a computer to make the software crash less. Constructive criticism 🇦🇺🤜🏼🤛🏼😎🍀☮️

[@adv_mnd]

I originally had it in the actual video. Something happened and I had to recut the video edit and forgot to put it back in 😬

[@stevesloan6775]

No doubt there are people spending their time, making small things in life hard. If you recognise it, you can naturally circumvent trouble. 🇦🇺🤜🏼🤛🏼😎😊😂🍀☮️

[@ttv_dominic_f3137]

Hey mate does it need power or does it have a battery in side ?

[@adv_mnd]

It requires power. The USB Cord has a Y, that you connect to the power supply.

[@user-dk3ih5ok6k]

If you add more ram or better cpu ..would that stop the crashing ?

[@adv_mnd]

It should. I actually just ordered 64gb of ram that should arrive today. I plan to see if that fixes it. Mostly because i want to try to use those 0.5mm scans because they look so nice!

[@Lobesanft]

I don´t believe the software problem coming from insuffizient memory. I faced the same problems in the past with my 128 GB machine at 18 core CPU and plenty of SSD space. I tend to believe that the problem comes from the type of Nvidia card used in the system.

[@swiftdetecting]

Is the scale size correct ? on scan so same as real ?

[@adv_mnd]

Yup, it’s scales accurately. That’s the sole reason I wanted a 3D Scanner and not want to rely on something like photogrammetry.

[@swiftdetecting]

how small do you think you can scan?@@adv_mnd

[@flotr6465]

@@adv_mnd 3mm off at 1.2m you call it accurate? with a well done photogrammetry, using correct placed reference points for scaling, you could get 0.5mm precision.

[@seanblaise1837]

How powerful a computer do you need?

[@adv_mnd]

The biggest thing I have seen that people need to upgrade is GPU and RAM. A good NVIDIA GPU and (i'd say) minimum 32GB of RAM. 64 would be preferred. Their minimum required that Shining 3D states is almost too low. I have a Intel i9-13900H processor, 32GB of RAM and NVIDIA RTX 4080 GPU

[@chublez]

If you need to ask, a more powerfull one. seriously though these things lean on the computer pretty heavy. Our man here doesn't have a budget build by any imagination and you saw he had to cut down his point cloud to export due to ram limitations. The more PC you have behind this thing the better your experience will be if you're trying to manipulate large point clouds. Particularly ram, luckily ram is one of the cheaper components to spec out(and outside a mac is usually easy enough to upgrade after the fact) once you've got the rest covered.

[@mlydick]

​@@adv_mndbased on that, is the POP2 a better choice for medium parts?

[@Projekt5.3]

Hold up, 2023 isnt over yet. From the looks of it the Revopoint Miraco is going to blow the Einstar away

[@Todestelzer]

Maybe in 5 years. The tracking isn’t the best with Revopoint scanners. I have a mini and have to use a lot of extra scanning targets for good tracking. But the software with vers 5 is a lot better now.

[@Projekt5.3]

@@Todestelzer Yeah ver. 5 is definitely better. Einstar scanning software is definitely impressive, but I haven't really been wowed by the accuracy of the scans. They seem very rough and blocky compared to what I get with my Pop2

[@chublez]

@@Projekt5.3 The pop2 isn't the same size class of scanner. Different tools for different jobs my man. If Einstar made a smaller scanner they'd blow Revopoint out the water. It's all the software where the competition is falling down here.

[@Projekt5.3]

@@chublez I wasn't comparing anything to the Pop2. I was comparing the Einstar to the MIRACO which is a pretty even comparison in my mind as the Einscan can do much larger objects than the Pop2. Either way, the Einscan lacks the accuracy.

[@compprufus]

@@Projekt5.3 May be what you say, can't compare, but my experience with POP2 is horrendous. I don't know why I didn't bought Einstar instead, maybe it wasn't available at the time, but definitely am regretting getting the POP2. Yes, I was as well wondering if I should rather get 10k scanner, but as many can't justify the cost for what projects I want to work on but then 2 times 1k is getting pricey as well. My POP2 lose traction all the time even with a plethora of trackers (yes, scattered irregularly), never actually tracking them as tracker but somewhat as a feature (raised height), resulting in frustration upon frustration. Zinc spray? Sometimes worked against me. Only somewhat workable outcome was a motorcycle fairing but since I need the whole picture, just one scanned piece won't cut it.

[@DigitalLee]

Einstar died, Creality Otter better…. I say it like an einstar owner((

[@fixerkar]

Have creality fixed their software, if not I'm still skeptical

[@DigitalLee]

@@fixerkar If you compare the accuracy of the scanner at the beginning of work and after 1 hour, as it heats up, you will be surprised at how large the error is. As an Einstar owner, I am very disappointed with this scanner, especially after buying the Ender. Yes, Creality has bad software, but Einstar's software is not perfect either - you won't be able to scan a car in 0.2 resolution, the algorithms won't be able to build a mesh. But Ender with its terrible software can do it, and the accuracy of Ender according to my measurements is ultimately higher than that of Einstar.

[@DigitalLee]

I can share to you files.

[@m4rvinmartian]

*13:15** Simulate the entire planet.* _ERROR: Out of memory._

[@dragosm2686]

Amazing informercial. But, it's BS. The product is bad - when compared to what the influencers post on youtube - and the return policy is a complete fraud. They say 14 days money back - then it takes 13 to deliver and the refund is only for products you don't touch or don't work. So, yes, complete misrepresentation, does not fit the purpose and it is over hyped by paid influencer marketers. Don't buy this crap! Much harder to use and with much worse results that what is being advertised.

[@adv_mnd]

Not sure if you actually watched my video. I paid full price for it. It has its issues with meshing, which I go over. You definitely need a beefy computer to get the higher res meshes. It fits my needs with price and what I’m looking out for it. It’s nice knowing that you believe I was paid for this, but I was not. Legally we have to disclose if we did as well, whether it be free product, sponsored post, discount, etc.

[@dragosm2686]

Fair enough. I wrote the same answer to all the influencers that ranked top for this because I went thru a lot of videos and ordered this crap and cannot return it now. I still consider it is marketed as something way more capable then it actually is. @@adv_mnd

[@happyhobo2217]

Is internet required while scanning?

[@dragosm2686]

No. But you need a full size computer with i7, 32G ram and gtx 1060 6gb minimum to properly operate it. Many say it can be used with a laptop, but you can imagine what kind of laptop that is. Also, the cables are not very long, so you need to have a computer no more than 7 feet away from the scanner. @@happyhobo2217

[@jackwagonsusa]

No its not required​@@happyhobo2217

[@Schnippen_Schnappen1]

All these “affordable” scanners under $10k don’t work. Don’t waste your time

[@johnnyzee383]

You are showing you're lack of intelligence.

[@trappertrinkaus1718]

There's probably a million small makers out there who solidly disagree with you. I'm one of them.

[@nicholasvosatka2407]

Your laptop sucks brother.