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From scan to print: cleaning up, repairing, exporting

3D scanning6 min readUpdated: 10/2026

are explained briefly when you hover over or tap them.

A fresh scan is rarely printable straight away. Usually there are remnants of the table attached, there are holes, and the model consists of millions of triangles. A few steps turn it into a clean print model.

1. Cleaning up in the scanning software

The manufacturer’s scanning software is the first step. CrealityScan, Revo Scan and the other programs offer the most important tools directly:

  • Remove stray points: Points that do not belong to the object, for example from the surface it sits on. Revo Scan can remove table surfaces automatically.
  • Align and merge: Join several scans, for example top and bottom, into one model.
  • Generate a mesh: Calculate a closed triangle mesh from the point cloud.
  • Close holes: Small gaps can be filled automatically in most programs. CrealityScan offers this automatically or manually.

Remember: automatically filled areas are estimated. They rarely match the original exactly. For spare parts that have to fit, it is better to rescan missing areas.

2. Simplifying

A scan can have a very large number of triangles. This makes files large and slicers slow. Reduce the triangle count as far as possible while keeping the details you need. Most scanning programs and MeshLab have a function for this.

3. Checking and repairing

For printing, the model must be closed, meaning without holes and without errors in the mesh. There are free programs for this:

  • MeshLab: Open source. For cleaning, repairing, checking and converting triangle meshes, including scan data. Current version 2025.07.
  • Blender with the 3D Print Toolbox: An add-on from Blender 4.2. It finds open areas, repairs them with “Make Manifold”, measures the model and can hollow it out with even wall thickness.
  • Meshmixer: According to Autodesk, Meshmixer is no longer being developed or supported, but is still available free of charge. For beginners it still works, but there are no updates.

4. Checking the size

The scanner delivers the model at real size. STL and OBJ files, however, do not store a unit. The slicer usually assumes millimetres. After importing, check that the dimensions are correct. Measure the real part to do this. If the model is 10 or 1,000 times too small or too large, the unit was read wrongly.

5. Wall thickness and hollowing out

A scan is a solid body. You print large figures more economically if you hollow them out. Watch the wall thickness: for normal FDM parts, All3DP gives 0.8 to 1.6 mm, that is 3 to 4 lines with a 0.4 mm nozzle. The slicer leaves out walls thinner than one line width.

6. Exporting

  • STL for the slicer, if you only need the shape.
  • OBJ or PLY if the colour is to be kept, for example for a colour print or for games and 3D graphics.
  • 3MF is also offered by some programs, for example the Einstar software.

What the law says

This is not legal advice, just an overview of the basics in Germany.

  • People: Under § 22 of the Art Copyright Act (Kunsturhebergesetz), likenesses may only be distributed or shown publicly with the consent of the person depicted. Whether a 3D scan counts as a likeness is not expressly regulated by the law. Get consent before the scan, especially if you want to show, sell or upload the model.
  • Figures and artworks: Works of fine art and applied art are protected under § 2 of the Copyright Act (Urheberrechtsgesetz). Under § 53, individual copies for private use are permitted if they do not serve a commercial purpose. However, these copies may be neither distributed nor shown publicly. Uploading a scan of a protected figure to a model platform or selling prints of it is therefore not permitted.
  • Your own parts and spare parts: Trademark and design law have their own rules. If you want to sell replicas, have this checked beforehand.

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