I tested the Revopoint Trackit, and I don't want to see a scanning marker ever again

Revopoint continues its explosive growth with the release of another 3D scanner; this time it's called Trackit and is their most premium offering yet. With the ability to capture both small and large objects with marker-free workflows, I expect it to compete for a place in our best 3D scanners guide.

The scanner goes beyond what most hobbyists require and provides a feature set that is tailored towards professionals who are making a living from the trade. Given its price, I wouldn't say it's suited to hobbyists who only scan small items for use with one of the best 3D printers. In fact, the target market is primarily aimed at those involved in reverse engineering parts that are either too expensive to buy, or simply not available to buy.

The most unique thing about the Revopoint Trackit is that it offers markerless scanning thanks to the dual-camera base station, which tracks the handheld scanner in 3D space. This scanner has marker points all over it, which negates the need for placing markers on the object you are scanning.

I've had the Trackit for the past two months and have focused almost entirely on the markerless scanning process because that's what makes this setup unique. Read on to see how the scanner performed

Revopoint Trackit review: Key specs

Price

• A mid-range professional scanner that is priced accordingly

The Trackit scanner from Revopoint costs $4,980 / £4,385 - although the product is regularly discounted on the official Revopoint website. This is actually the highest-end scanner that we've reviewed here at Creative Bloq, with the Revopoint Miraco Plus 3D Scanner taking second place.

The Revopoint Trackit is a class act, but understandably, you have to pay for the privilege of having a device that is capable of both optical tracking and standalone handheld workflows. The price might put some people off, but if you think about the time saved with marker-free scans, then you might deem the additional costs to be more than worth it.

Unboxing

• Expertly-engineered and easy to assemble
• Protected by a lot of high-density foam

The first thing you'll see with the Trackit product is that it ships in two large military-grade flight boxes. Suffice to say, there's no danger of you misplacing this scanner on account of it being too small. One of the boxes houses the handheld scanner, and the other contains the dual camera base station and tripod. Everything is incredibly well protected with perfectly cut hard foam, so you'll have no problems taking it into the field.

Setting the two elements up is incredibly straightforward thanks to Revopoint's intuitive design and easy-to-follow labelling of parts and cables. There was no instruction manual contained within the boxes, which I would have liked, though with that being said, I managed to get up and running just fine without one. That's a testament to Revopoint's thoughtfulness on how everything fits together.

The base station is connected to an automated tripod head, which is in turn connected to the tripod. All of the cables running from the base station to the handheld scanner, the computer, and the power outlet are colour-coded and contained within a single sheath so that cables are not trailing around more than they need to be. It's also worth noting that the cables are incredibly long, 6m in fact, which is perfect for scanning larger objects where you might need to move a considerable distance away from the power source.

The items are made up of a range of metals, plastics, and carbon fibre, all of which provide a lightweight setup. This is ideal considering you'll be moving the kit around quite a lot, either in transit or during the scanning process. The base station and the handheld scanner are made up of lightweight materials, which are not as durable or robust as I would have liked them to be. I'd like to see Revopoint strengthen these in future iterations of the product.

Performance

• Expensive PC hardware is required to make the most of the Trackit scanner
• Performance is second to none with outstanding accuracy levels

Before the scanner is ready to use, you'll need to perform the calibration process. This can be launched from the Revo Metro software, although you'll need to insert the provided USB drive into the PC you're using.

The software will guide you through the process of calibration with a mixture of manual and automated steps needing to be taken. The process is relatively straightforward, although it does take a little while to complete. I'm looking forward to the day when scanners ship ready calibrated, or maybe one day they'll be so clever that they won't need calibrating at all.

Revopoint were kind enough to send me a laptop that contained the required hardware to run the scanner and its associated software. The main thing to note is that you'll need at least 32GB of RAM, a recent generation CPU, and a dedicated GPU. Revopoint recommends an NVIDIA RTX 4060 (8 GB) or better. If you're having problems with the performance of the scanner, then it could be because your PC isn't up to it.

My overall experience of using the 3D scanner was positive, although getting the handheld scanner to work with the base station was difficult at times. You have to make sure that the scanner is within an exact range of the tracking station, and this was tricky while scanning in more compact locations. If you've got a large workshop, then you won't have any of the problems that I had.

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30 crossline lasers and single-line laser modes provide a volumetric accuracy of 0.025mm + 0.04mm x L(m). The scanner is able to scan 1.5 million measurements per second, which is very impressive indeed. The Buddha scan shows the level of detail that this scanner is capable of, even when scanning smaller objects.

I also loved the ability to seamlessly leapfrog the base station for the capturing of larger objects. Revopoint has managed to make the scanning process as straightforward as possible with current technology. It's not perfect yet, and I did experience some problems with the scanner not being able to pick up everything I put in its way, but I'm sure with more time and experience I would have become more proficient.

Even though this is a scanner that is designed to be taken into the field, I think it's better suited to a workshop environment where you can leave the scanner set up. It's not that you can't move the scanner to a new location, but rather that you'll introduce new variables to the setup, which could make the process of gathering scan data rather frustrating. I'd suggest getting it calibrated and set up in one location, and if possible, bring the scanned objects to the scanner.

Who's it for?

• Perfect for small businesses and serious professionals

The Revopoint Trackit is a 3D scanner that sits pretty much in the middle of the market, bridging the gap between high-end industrial scanners and more affordable consumer models. As a result, I would expect it to be very appealing to professionals wanting to up their game and reduce overall scanning times. That means engineers, designers, and small businesses with a focus on reverse engineering and industrial design will want to take notice.

Due to the price, I would expect very few hobbyists to purchase this scanner, as it would be very difficult to justify the cost if you weren't able to recoup the money.

Buy it if...

• You want to say goodbye to scanning markers
• You need one scanner that can scan both small and large objects
• You reverse engineer parts and need a high level of accuracy

Don't buy it if...

• You're on a budget and need something affordable
• You're a hobbyist who only scan small items for 3D printing
• You lack storage space - this thing is big!