In 2011, technical engineer and software developer, Mark Evans began to take notice of 3D printing and 3D scanning technologies. Six years on he is the founder of Zaybu Ltd, with his very own 3D scanning technology patent-pending, and looking to take it as far as he can.
Prior to conceiving the Zaybu 3D Scanning design, Evans was using Microsoft Connect and Point Cloud Software, producing models of his son, to be printed on a 3D printer he built himself with the support of a software he wrote himself. It’s only been the technical support of his father in the prototyping of his Zaybu 3D Scanning concept that has kept Evans from being a one-man band.
Zaybu is designed for one or more cabled cameras to be mounted on an inner frame to be rotated around a subject, as averse to using dozens of scanners to capture imaging from different angles. The camera cables can pass through a rotating spindle and hub, onto a host computer, enabling the cameras to pass through the same hub without a slip ring, or other restrictive functionality. Evans says the design allows for fast, smooth and continuous image capture, while being scalable and flexible too.
“The whole design is geared towards cabled cameras and as many as you want, obviously with some sort of practical limit, but it was to get away from the tremendously complicated set-ups you have with 30 or 60 cameras you have with tables and god knows what synchronisation issues to run them all at the same time,” Evans told TCT.
Removing the need to have so many cameras in operation at the same time, Evans pursued patents in the UK, Europe and US, while keeping an eye on developments in the industry. He says he ‘half thought’ he had something really valuable, but was also aware something could come to market and trump it at any time. As his patents near their confirmation, Evans has sought to publicise his idea, hoping existing players in the industry can help him make it a viable option for users.
Those users, such is the flexibility of the Evans’ design, could be in a plethora of vertical markets. Evans highlights the production of medical devices and customised clothing as viable routes, but at this stage isn’t ruling anything out.
“I think the design is so generic I could see it being applied to so many industries, from the leisure industry to the medical industry,” Evans said. “The design is scalable so you can have a desktop version, or you can go and scan an elephant if you can get the justification for it. I don’t see it as being tied to one industry. It may well lend itself better to certain industries over others without a doubt, I totally understand that, but I do see it as a broad ranging application area.”
The Zaybu 3D Scanning design’s suggested workability in a range of environments, coupled with Evans’ enthusiasm for the project, he hopes will go a long way to securing a manufacturing partnership. Specifically, he’s looking for: “Someone who is in a position to manufacture these scanners or my design. There must be some understanding and appreciation of what is required from a 3D scanning industry, being able to accommodate various 3D hardware and processing features. I know through doing the Point Cloud stuff, knowing the position of your cameras at any given time, relative to your subject, is hugely valuable to producing really good quality images.”
That’s what Zaybu 3D Scanning promises. As he’s surveyed the 3D printing and 3D scanning industries while developing the Zaybu design, Evans says he’s seen money invested in plenty of ideas and projects. It has served only to reassure him. Since he is still to come across a similar concept that blows his idea out of the water, he thinks there ought to be big interest in Zaybu.
“I keep my eyes on the industry and the marketplace quite regularly. I look at where the technology is going. I see that there is still an enormous requirement for cabled cameras to be rotated around a subject,” he concludes. “I have been keeping an eye on the industry to be realistic with myself, and if I see something out there that someone has developed that blows my idea out of the water, you can’t bury your head in the sand. Quite genuinely, in the last six years of my life, I’ve not seen that. I’ve seen some good advances, I’ve been keeping my eyes open for ideas that would make my idea redundant, and I really haven’t seen that, or even close to that.”
