Your first ASCAND scan starts with a controlled observation
ASCAND creates source material for 3D reconstruction by recording an object as it rotates on a coded turntable while the smartphone remains steady. The video is then uploaded to 3D-Scan.Online, where the available observations are interpreted and processed into a result that you can review.
The important first lesson is simple: you are not taking an ordinary product video. You are creating a structured sequence of views. Stability, visibility, framing and consistency matter because the reconstruction can use only the evidence present in that sequence.
This Getting Started guide gives you the mental model and readiness checks for your first workflow. The linked tutorials own the detailed procedures for selecting a turntable setup, arranging the capture station, recording the video and reviewing the result.
Understand the complete ASCAND workflow
ASCAND and 3D-Scan.Online have different jobs
The ASCAND ecosystem has two connected parts.
ASCAND creates the observations
The physical capture system establishes the relationship among the object, coded turntable and smartphone. The object rotates while the camera remains in a stable position. The recording contains changing views of the object together with the visible reference information required by the applicable workflow.
The turntable does not reconstruct the object, and the video is not a finished 3D model. It is ordered source evidence.
3D-Scan.Online interprets and processes them
The browser-based platform receives the applicable recording through a Scan Project and coordinates the selected reconstruction path. Completed results can then be previewed, evaluated and downloaded where the current workflow provides them.
Processing can extract and combine information supported by the capture. It cannot reliably reconstruct every surface that was hidden, cropped, unstable or otherwise unobservable. A completed result therefore begins the review stage; it does not certify accuracy, completeness or suitability for a later task.
Learn how ASCAND and 3D-Scan.Online work together
What you need before the first capture
Prepare the complete workflow before you begin recording:
- a documented ASCAND coded-turntable configuration suitable for the intended object;
- the currently supported capture device and a stable holder appropriate to the documented setup;
- a suitable object that can remain stationary relative to the rotating platform;
- a stable surface for the turntable and phone support;
- a controlled background with useful visual separation from the object;
- stable, even illumination;
- the ability to record the required source video;
- access to the current 3D-Scan.Online workflow and its verified upload requirements;
- enough uninterrupted time and space to prepare, check and record without moving the station.
Device compatibility, account requirements, accepted source formats, upload limits and available processing paths can change. Check the current platform documentation rather than relying on a screenshot or older tutorial.
The standard first-use route should remain focused on the documented Vision workflow. Laser-assisted operation uses optional hardware and requires its own verified installation, alignment and safety guidance.
Choose the appropriate turntable setup
Review current platform documentation
Choose a first object that makes the workflow observable
A good first object helps you see the relationship between preparation, capture and result. It reduces avoidable ambiguity while you learn the system.
For an initial workflow, prefer an object that is:
- stable and easy to support without changing pose;
- manageable within the documented turntable and framing arrangement;
- opaque rather than transparent;
- visually distinguishable from the chosen background;
- shaped so that important outer boundaries become visible as it rotates;
- free from loose, flexible or independently moving parts;
- not dominated by mirror-like reflections or extreme gloss;
- robust enough for the intended handling and rotation.
Some traits make optical reconstruction more demanding. Transparent or translucent surfaces may reveal the background instead of a consistent object boundary. Strong reflections can change with viewpoint. Very thin structures may occupy too little image area, while deep recesses and downward-facing regions may remain hidden. Rotational symmetry can also make some observations harder to distinguish.
These are selection considerations, not a universal pass/fail test. An apparently simple object can still contain hidden geometry, and a challenging object may require preparation, another evidence method or additional orientations. Begin with a comparatively clear case so that any later difficulty is easier to diagnose.
Establish the camera–turntable–object relationship
ASCAND changes the viewpoint relationship by rotating the object instead of moving the camera around it. The smartphone therefore remains fixed while the turntable carries the object through a sequence of orientations.
Before recording, establish these relationships:
- Stable turntable: Place the selected turntable configuration on a firm surface where it can rotate without interference.
- Stable object: Position the object so it remains fixed relative to the platform throughout rotation.
- Steady vertical phone: Secure the smartphone in the documented vertical orientation. Do not hold or reposition it during the recording.
- Complete framing: Keep the complete object and required turntable region visible, with useful margins throughout rotation.
- Visible coded reference: Do not allow the object, holder, crop or surrounding material to conceal the coded band required by the workflow.
- Controlled surroundings: Use stable illumination and a background that supports observation of the object rather than competing with it.
The supplied turntable photograph confirms the appearance of the black platform and visible patterned outer band. It does not show the complete phone position, holder, object, framing or lighting arrangement required for capture.
Do not derive an exact phone distance, angle, zoom level or camera setting from a general diagram. Those parameters must follow the current verified procedure and the object-specific framing check.
Set up the capture station
Learn why the camera remains steady
Run a full-rotation readiness check
The starting view is not enough. An object that appears safely framed at one angle may extend beyond the image later, reveal a strong reflection or obscure part of the coded reference as it turns.
Before recording, check the entire intended rotation:
- The turntable, phone support and object remain stable.
- The object does not slide, tilt, flex or change pose.
- The complete object stays in frame with clear margins.
- The required coded turntable region remains visible.
- Focus stays crisp on the relevant object region.
- Illumination and exposure remain reasonably consistent.
- The object remains distinguishable from the background.
- Shadows, reflections or highlights do not suddenly hide important boundaries.
- No hand, cable, person or surrounding object crosses the view.
- Nothing requires the phone to be touched or refocused during capture.
If a problem appears, correct the station and repeat the readiness check from the beginning. Avoid compensating during the recording by moving the camera, object or lighting. That would change the controlled relationship within the observation sequence.
A passed visual check removes several avoidable capture faults, but it cannot guarantee a successful reconstruction. Some limitations become visible only during processing or result inspection.
Follow the first-use path
Use this sequence to keep each decision in its proper place.
1. Understand the system
Confirm that you understand the two-part workflow: ASCAND records structured observations; 3D-Scan.Online processes the uploaded source and returns results for review.
2. Choose the documented turntable configuration
Select the standard or documented expansion setup according to the object and available capture area. Do not improvise an unsupported platform arrangement.
3. Assess and prepare the object
Check stability, support, surface behavior, visibility, handling permission and intended use. For your first workflow, reduce avoidable optical and geometric challenges.
4. Prepare and verify the station
Arrange the steady phone, coded turntable, object, background and lighting. Manually inspect the full rotation before recording.
5. Record and inspect the source
Follow the current recording procedure without changing the physical relationship during capture. Review the video before upload for cropping, movement, blur, obstruction, lighting changes and missing reference information.
6. Upload and process
Use the current 3D-Scan.Online project workflow and select only a processing path supported by the capture and available equipment. The platform interprets observations; it does not convert an already complete model hidden inside the video.
Understand upload and processing
7. Review and decide
Inspect the returned preview and available representations from several viewpoints. Look for missing regions, unwanted geometry, holes, discontinuities and strong distortions. Decide whether the result is sufficient for its intended use, needs a repeated capture, requires another method or should continue into downstream editing.
Ready to prepare the station?
You should now understand:
- why the phone remains steady while the object rotates;
- why the coded turntable must remain observable;
- why a capture video contains evidence rather than a finished model;
- why object choice, framing, stability, background and lighting matter;
- why processing completion must be followed by result review.
The next step is to confirm the appropriate turntable configuration and then arrange the complete capture station using the verified procedure.
Laser and Combo workflows can be explored later when they address a specific evidence need. They require optional hardware and separate verified setup and safety guidance; they are not prerequisites for learning the standard first-use path.
Choose your turntable setup
Return to all tutorialsASCAND Tutorials help you move from a prepared capture station to a reviewed digital result. Each tutorial owns one practical task and explains its prerequisites, ordered actions, expected result and important checks.