Every scanning company quotes an accuracy number, but few explain what it means. At IJK Labs our primary scanner is the Shining 3D EinScan HX2 — a hybrid blue-laser and blue-LED handheld system — and its published accuracy is up to 0.04 mm on the laser scan and up to 0.05 mm on the rapid LED scan. Here's how to read that.
Single-point accuracy vs. volumetric accuracy
The 0.04 mm figure is single-point accuracy: how closely a single captured point matches the real surface. But parts have size, and error can accumulate across a large object. That's why the HX2 also publishes a volumetric accuracy — 0.04 + 0.06 mm/m on the laser scan. The “+ 0.06 mm/m” means that for every metre of part size, up to 0.06 mm of additional deviation can appear.
For a 200 mm bracket, that added term is tiny. For a 2-metre panel, it matters — which is why for very large objects we combine scanning with photogrammetry and alignment targets to keep accuracy in check.
Laser mode vs. LED mode
The HX2 has two modes. The 13 crossed blue laser lines give the highest accuracy (up to 0.04 mm) and cope well with shiny and dark surfaces — reflective metal, black rubber — that defeat cheaper scanners. The blue-LED rapid mode is faster (1,200,000 points/s) and better for capturing large matte areas quickly, at up to 0.05 mm.
We choose the mode per part. A precision gear gets the laser mode; a big matte housing might start in LED mode, with laser passes on the critical features.
What you actually receive
Raw scan data is only the start. Our engineers clean the point cloud, generate a verified mesh, and — for reverse engineering — rebuild the part as a parametric CAD model with proper tolerances. You receive files in OBJ, STL, ASC, PLY, or 3MF straight from the scanner, plus STEP and IGES on request.
The honest headline: up to 0.04 mm accuracy with the EinScan HX2 laser scan, verified before it leaves our workshop. No inflated claims, no certifications we don't hold — just the real spec and a clean deliverable.