HP Sprout’s New 3D Capture Stage Introduces User-Friendly 3D Scanning At $299

When HP announced that they would be entering the 3D printing space with their Multi Jet Fusion technology late last year, many within the industry question just how far the company would take 3D technology. With the introduction of their Sprout platform in injunction with the the announcement of their 3D Printing ambitions, it was rather clear that their intentions were to transform the entire making, creating, designing and 3D printing spaces by bridging the gap between the digital and physical worlds. And despite their claims that it was the industrial side of the market they were catering to with their 3D printing technology, it was rather clear that their intentions were much larger than this. Last night we got another piece of the HP puzzle.

A new 3D scanner is here and it appears it is positioned to redefine the phrase “user-friendly” when it comes to 3D printing. The HP Sprout is a high performance all-in-one immersive computer that provides two touch surfaces that interact to turn your desktop into a digital/ physical workspace. It has an Intel® Core™ i7 Processor, 1 TB of storage, and a Windows operating system, and it allows you to instantly capture real world objects, edit them, and apply them to your next creative project. With Multi Jet Fusion on HP’s horizon, Sprout is working to bridge the digital and physical worlds.

Now, HP’s Sprout platform introduces a breakthrough, 3D scanning capability with their new 3D Capture Stage that is user-friendly, and best of all affordable. Providing an easy, fast, and inexpensive way to create 3D content, the Sprout ecosystem now has Intel Real Sense 3D cameras, the new proprietary HP 3D Capture Stage, and their 3D capture software. Eric Monsef, from HP’s Highly Immersive Systems, summarized this new scanner:

“Sprout, HP’s onramp to its Blended Reality strategy, is the first step on our mission to deliver truly immersive experiences. The innovative 3D Capture solution uniquely allows users to easily capture an object in 3D that can then be further modified, shared, and printed.”

The 3D Capture software, which is being introduced as a free upgrade to current 3D Snapshot software, works flawlessly with the 3D Capture Stage platform/ turntable.  When scanning objects the stage tilts 15-degrees while it turns to fully capture the object being scanned. 3D Capture Stage creates a full 3D digital model that can be manipulated.  Up until now, the physical and digital worlds have been separate, and digital creation has remained in two dimensions. Now objects can be captured fully in 3D because of Capture’s unique turntable/ platform tilting design, and quickly transformed to the PC screen.

Sprout, as we’ve mentioned in the past, also has a feature that lets others share (via social media, email, or Facebook), view and manipulate objects with an online 3D viewer which they can use to rotate or resize an object to see multiple perspectives. It is also easy to 3D print objects with Sprout as well. HP has provided a scan to print solution by teaming up with the Dremel 3D Idea Builder, an affordable desktop FFF 3D printer. If you are not up for spending the money on a printer yourself, then an additional option is available.  Using one of HP’s multiple print service providers you’ll be able to turn your 3D Capture Stage scans into physical objects which are mailed directly to your doorstep.

What’s not to love? Plus, the 3D Capture Stage will be available in July for just $299 at the Sprout website. Let us know if you intend on purchasing this new 3D scanner.  Discuss in the HP Sprout 3D Capture Stage forum thread on 3DPB.com.  You can view a video of 3D Capture Stage in action below: