I thought about using a BLTouch probe to do 3D scans of objects.
The objects to be suitable require smooth gradients and enough space for the probe, without anything hitting the print head/hot end.
What tools do I need to control the printer and obtain such data? are there GCodes scripts for that?
I would need to define a grid size, spacing, retraction, maximum expected height increase between adjacent points.
I don't know the probe, but I have used a delta 3D printing machine (of my design) to scan a surface. It takes some time.
Your resolution will be limited by the probe geometry of the touch probe tip. You want a Z-probe function that reports the Z-value of the point, not that simply sets Z= when the probe "hits". The RepRap firmware has this in the G30 command.
You will need to write a loop that probes all points of interest. This is best done by writing a program (or script) that generates the G-code. I have a PERL script that generates the calibration mesh for my Delta machine, and I can share that with you.
I edit the script for the area to be scanned. This includes (in my case) the radius and the resolution. I then run the script to produce G-code to do the probing.
I send the G-code to the printer with Repetier-Host. Repetier-Host builds a log file of every character returned by the printer. The G30 command returns in the log the Z value wher ethe probe hit.
After the G-code is fully executed, I run a PERL script on the log file to extract the Z height of each of the probed points.
What you do with that data is up to you.
