What is Foldio?
Foldio is a portable, foldable design lightbox and smart turntable that allows the user to capture 360-degree photos and video for 3-D digitization and interactive 360-degree images.
Key Features:
- Built-in lighting equipment to help light your subject while removing the boundary lines between your subject and the turntable
- Can be used in a plethora of indoor spaces
- Adjustable turn-table speed
- Remote photo capture using a DSLR to get professional-grade images
- Connects to the Foldio360 app to automize the process
Recommended Use: Photorealistic accuracy. Capturing a subject with lots of colour or visual detail data.
What could I use the Foldio equipment for?
- Capturing detailed, 360-degree images of your subject to turn into interactive photos or 3-D scans
- Best for smaller objects due to the size of the turntable (see the 3D Scanning Knowledge Base to learn more about our photogrammetry rigs that accommodate larger objects)
- Capturing subjects with lots of colour and visual data that depend upon accuracy
How do I access the Foldio equipment?
To use the Foldio equipment, you will first need to be an inducted member of uCreate. If you have not yet been inducted, you can book an induction here.
If you have never worked with photogrammetry before, we recommend reading the Introduction to Photogrammetry on the Knowledge Base or speaking to a member of staff who can assist you. Our equipment comes with a step-by-step manual sheet to walk you through the process from start to finish.
To book or loan the Foldio equipment please visit the Equipment Bookings page.
How to use the Foldio.
uCreate has two Foldio's, one on our loans service and another set up in our digital transformation suite (Main Library, room 1.15).
The following instructions are for the Foldio in 1.15, instructions may differ slightly for the loans system version but printed instructions are included in the kit.
Visit the Official Manual for more information. This has everything mentioned in extensive detail.
See the bottom of this page for a glossary of terms.
Setting up the camera.
Set the Camera to Manual Mode, then Manual Focus. Ensure the dial is on ‘M’.
Ensure the Drive Mode is set to Self-Timer: 10 sec/remote.
Set the ISO to the lowest possible, (ISO 100 for example) to reduce noise in the images. Aperture can be set to provide a deep depth of field (f/8 or f/11) to keep the object in focus.
Adjust Shutter Speed according to lighting conditions. Fast enough to prevent blur, slow enough to let enough light in.
Connecting the camera to the iPad.
Mount the Camera on the Gorillapod Tripod. Adjust the tripod so the camera is focused on the centre of the turntable inside the light tent.
The tablet provided comes with Foldio360 app. Once opened, you will be prompted to select the Device Information. Select ‘DSLR 360’.
On the bottom of the tablet app, press on the ‘Select Device’ prompt. Once pressed, select the Foldio360 option that comes up, this will connect our app to the turntable via Bluetooth.
Setting up the Foldio app and taking your photos.
Adjust the speed, lighting, number of rotations within the app.
1 - Rotation speed: Choose a desirable rotation speed depending on the subject’s weight.
2 - Frame: Choose the total number of photos. We recommend 24 or 36 frame setting for sharing online.
3 - Halo Edge: Control the Halo Edge light brightness. It helps you to create a clean image with camera brightness function.
4/5 - Rotate Left/Right: Rotate the turntable to left or right directions manually.
Once everything is set-up, press the orange button on the bottom of the app to start the turntable rotation.
The turntable will send infrared (IR) signals to the camera. The camera will take photos accordingly at each predetermined angle as the turntable rotates. Do not move the object while it is being photographed.
Monitor the first few shots to ensure the object is well-focused and properly lit.
If necessary, pause the process to make any adjustments to the camera settings or object placement.
You should now have the necessary images to create the scan.
Using the Scanned Images to Make the Model Using 3DF Zephyr Free.
The 3DF Zephyr Free Software can be downloaded from the 3DFlow website for free.
Take a look at our recorded software workshops for a video walk through, basic steps are below.
Import the images you captured with the Canon EOS 77D. Make sure the to transfer all the images from the Camera’s SD card to your computer before starting.
Open 3DF Zephyr, choose to start a ‘New Project’ and select ‘Workflow Wizard’ for an easier process.
3DF Zephyr will automatically align the imported images.
Inspect the alignment to ensure that the software has correctly matched the images. If there are misalignments, you may need to manually adjust them or re-import the images.
The software will use the aligned images to generate a dense point cloud, representing the surface of the object you scanned. You can manually edit the point cloud if necessary.
3DF Zephyr will transform the point cloud into a 3D mesh. This process converts the cloud of points into a polygonal model. The software can project the colour information from your photos onto the 3D mesh, giving it realistic textures. This is demonstrated in the workshop video.
Once you are satisfied with the 3D model, you can export it in various formats such as STL, OBJ, PLY, or others, depending on your need. See below for file guidance.
STL: Ideal for 3D printing due to its wide compatibility and focus on geometry.
OBJ: Best for detailed 3D modelling and animation, as it supports textures and colours.
PLY: Suitable for academic or scientific research, offering detailed data including colour and transparency.
FBX: Great for game development and animation projects requiring complex data like animations.
3MF/STEP/IGES: Recommended for advanced 3D printing and CAD applications, supporting comprehensive data like print attributes and precise dimensions.
Where should I look for more information?
For more information on the Foldio studios please visit the Orangemonkie website.
If you are experiencing an issue with the equipment and are unsure of how to progress, please speak to a member of uCreate staff or email us at uCreate.Makerspace@ed.ac.uk.
Glossary of terms.
Manual Mode: A camera setting that allows full control over both aperture and shutter speed.
Manual Focus: Adjusting the lens focus by hand, rather than relying on the camera's auto-focus feature.
Drive Mode: A setting that controls how many photos are taken when the shutter is pressed, including options like single shot or continuous shooting.
ISO: Measures the camera sensor's sensitivity to light, affecting exposure and image noise.
Aperture: The size of the lens opening, controlling the amount of light entering the camera and depth of field.
Shutter Speed: The duration the camera's shutter is open to expose the sensor to light, influencing exposure and motion blur.