Jaguar ring

Artec Micro, our high-precision industrial desktop 3D scanner designed to scan small objects, produces a level of accuracy that has to be seen to be fully appreciated. The human eye’s visibility threshold is said to be 40 microns. Artec Micro delivers scans at a precision of up to 10 microns — that’s one one hundredth of a millimeter.

The scanner’s capabilities were put to the test with this artistic ring that is designed to look like a miniature jaguar straddling the wearer’s finger. The ring made for a good subject because, for one thing, it is small, and that in itself is a challenge for most scanners. But added to that, the ring has many tiny little details that would be lost if the final scan turned out to be anything less than perfect.

Just a few minutes of preparation — basically airbrushing talcum powder onto the ring’s surfaces — was enough to get the ring ready for scanning. It took about five scans to capture the finer details in the hard-to-reach areas, but the result in the end was certainly worth the effort.

Zooming into the model, one begins to see where exactly the scanner shines with its representation of the smallest little intricacies. The underside of the ring, including the hollowed out inside of the jaguar, is covered in tiny little dots and these are all very accurately captured.

The entire body of the little beast is covered in a pattern of knobs whose individual contours have all been faithfully recorded. And even zooming into the jaguar’s paws, you can see not only the subtle lines that separate the four toes, but also the imperfections on the ring’s surface.

Artec Micro provides a level of precision that is perfect for use in quality control, reverse engineering, design, and an entire array of other use cases.