<p>The <a href="https://www.creaform3d.com/en/customer-support/legacy-products/exascan-scanner" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Creaform EXAscan</a> is according to the manufacturer a laser based machine. This means that it determines data points and their positions by some triangonometry done with a laser, 32.000 times a second, resulting in very high density point clouds. This demands a powerful program to work with.</p>

<p>At some point, your company used <a href="http://www.directdimensions.com/port_featuredprojects.php?fileName=fp_rapidform" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Rapidform</a>, which costs a wooping 10 to 30 grand for a license. Other software in this niece are - <a href="https://forum.solidworks.com/thread/41681" rel="nofollow noreferrer">according to a solidworks thread</a> - <a href="https://de.3dsystems.com/software" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Geomagic</a> and <a href="https://www.innovmetric.com/en/products/polyworks-inspector" rel="nofollow noreferrer">PolyWorks</a>. The gist of the thread seems to be that these "big 3" were the best ones at the market in 2011. However I have no idea if they work together with the given hardware or what the later two cost.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-20T20:57:36.867Z
2018-08-20T20:57:36.867Z
Trish
<p>So if the original manufacturer still exists, <a href="https://www.creaform3d.com/en/customer-support/legacy-products/exascan-scanner" rel="nofollow noreferrer">(which they appear to, and even list your scanner under 'legacy' products)</a> your best chance of getting it working is going to be to contact them directly. Using proprietary hardware WITHOUT the associated proprietary software can range from merely tedious but possible, to outright impossible, depending on the specific company. Oftentimes with tech products like this, the business model isn't about the product itself, but about the license fees for the software to use it. That they can charge yearly for. It's possible that the raw data is just a stereo camera file with extensions renamed, and equally possible that the firmware in the scanner will do some sort of check for valid license before it will even start scanning, they don't really have much info on their legacy products on their page</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-20T18:38:52.000Z
it is a laser based machine, so data pickup is clearly different from a stereo photogrammetry with structured light.
Trish
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-22T01:55:10.583Z
yes but thats not really the point, the point is it could equally be a standard format or something proprietary
entropicCreator
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-22T04:12:08.413Z
the programs are not made by the same maker as the software - they will use some kind of interface, but if this is an industry standard or a licensed knowledge I can't tell.
Trish
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-20T04:41:49.690Z
2018-08-20T06:53:02.960Z
2018-08-20T06:53:02.960Z
entropicCreator
<p>I found an old Creaform3D EXAscan laying around at the company I work for, and tried to plug it on a computer to see if it still works. </p>

<p>I discovered that it uses a software called RapidForm for data acquisition, but its license is expired.</p>

<p>I looked in the manufacturer site for drivers or something similar but there isn't anything.</p>

<p>Is there any other software or way to read the data coming from such scanner? </p>

<scanning>
3D scanner data acquisition
rbasniak
# 3D scanner data acquisition

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-04-05)

I found an old Creaform3D EXAscan laying around at the company I work for, and tried to plug it on a computer to see if it still works.

I discovered that it uses a software called RapidForm for data acquisition, but its license is expired.

I looked in the manufacturer site for drivers or something similar but there isn't anything.

Is there any other software or way to read the data coming from such scanner?

**Tags:** scanning

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-08-20. Score: 2

The [Creaform EXAscan](https://www.creaform3d.com/en/customer-support/legacy-products/exascan-scanner) is according to the manufacturer a laser based machine. This means that it determines data points and their positions by some triangonometry done with a laser, 32.000 times a second, resulting in very high density point clouds. This demands a powerful program to work with.

At some point, your company used [Rapidform](http://www.directdimensions.com/port_featuredprojects.php?fileName=fp_rapidform), which costs a wooping 10 to 30 grand for a license. Other software in this niece are - [according to a solidworks thread](https://forum.solidworks.com/thread/41681) - [Geomagic](https://de.3dsystems.com/software) and [PolyWorks](https://www.innovmetric.com/en/products/polyworks-inspector). The gist of the thread seems to be that these "big 3" were the best ones at the market in 2011. However I have no idea if they work together with the given hardware or what the later two cost.


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-08-20. Score: 1

So if the original manufacturer still exists, [(which they appear to, and even list your scanner under 'legacy' products)](https://www.creaform3d.com/en/customer-support/legacy-products/exascan-scanner) your best chance of getting it working is going to be to contact them directly. Using proprietary hardware WITHOUT the associated proprietary software can range from merely tedious but possible, to outright impossible, depending on the specific company. Oftentimes with tech products like this, the business model isn't about the product itself, but about the license fees for the software to use it. That they can charge yearly for. It's possible that the raw data is just a stereo camera file with extensions renamed, and equally possible that the firmware in the scanner will do some sort of check for valid license before it will even start scanning, they don't really have much info on their legacy products on their page

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: it is a laser based machine, so data pickup is clearly different from a stereo photogrammetry with structured light.  
> **username_2**: yes but thats not really the point, the point is it could equally be a standard format or something proprietary  
> **username_1**: the programs are not made by the same maker as the software - they will use some kind of interface, but if this is an industry standard or a licensed knowledge I can't tell.  

---

