Forensic Laboratories
A laboratory is accountable for its method: validated, documented, repeatable by another examiner, and defensible when the report is challenged.
3D scanning fits that discipline — a device with stated accuracy, an automated bench capture that handles the item once, and a processing history kept with every project.
No sensitive case details required.
A method to validateStated figures, a study on your references, an SOP for accreditation.
Bench throughputAutomated capture at 0.005 mm; operator time is placing and exporting.
Items handled onceThe examiner works on the model; the item stays in custody.
Peer review by fileA second opinion is a transfer, not a transport.
What changes at the bench
Automated capture: The item goes on the turntable once; the scanner does the turning and delivers a complete model.
Comparison as geometry: Questioned against known — case against exemplar, impression against shoe — overlaid and measured rather than judged under one light.
History with every project: Raw scans and processing steps retained; exports hashed for disclosure.
Reports a reviewer follows: Every figure in the report traceable to a measurement on a file another examiner can open.
Validation, throughput, reporting — the three things a laboratory measures a method by
A laboratory does not buy a scanner; it adopts a method. The first question is validation: does the device, as this laboratory runs it, produce the accuracy the report will claim? The validation and SOP page describes the study — reference objects, repeatability across operators, fixed processing — and how the figure to cite is read on the forensic scanning accuracy page.
The second is throughput. On the bench, Artec Micro II is automated: place the item, start, receive a model at 0.005 mm. Operator time is placing and exporting, so casework volume sets the pace rather than handling. Toolmarks, ballistics evidence and small evidence are the disciplines where that matters most; impression evidence comes to the bench as scans of footwear and tire impressions taken in place.
The third is the report. Every measurement in it traces to a file another examiner can open, and the chain of custody for that file — raw retained, processing documented, exports hashed — is the same discipline the laboratory already applies to digital evidence.
Which scanner for this work
Laboratories usually start with the bench scanner or the fine-detail handheld — whichever the caseload points to.
Artec Micro II
- Best for
- Bench items — cases, projectiles, fragments, teeth
- 3D point accuracy
- Up to 0.005 mm
- 3D resolution
- Up to 0.04 mm
- Capture
- Desktop, fully automated turntable
- Object size
- Up to 200 × 200 × 150 mm
Up to 0.005 mm accuracy and 0.04 mm resolution on an automated turntable, for items up to 200 × 200 × 150 mm. The item is placed once.
Artec Spider II
- Best for
- Marks, impressions, bone
- 3D point accuracy
- Up to 0.05 mm
- 3D resolution
- Up to 0.1 mm
- Light source
- Blue structured light, no targets on the surface
- Portability
- Handheld, tethered to a laptop
Up to 0.05 mm accuracy and 0.1 mm resolution with colour, handheld — for toolmarks, bite marks and impressions in place or on the bench.
See a validated bench method run on the evidence types your laboratory handles — book a demo.
Book a demoQuestions practitioners ask
How is the method validated for accreditation?
Reference objects of known dimension scanned under your conditions, repeatability across operators, fixed processing and an SOP — supported by an Artec partner. The validation and SOP page sets out the study.
What throughput can we expect on the bench?
Micro II capture is automated: place the item, start, receive a model. Operator time is placing and exporting, so throughput is set by the caseload rather than by handling.
Does the item need preparation?
No. Capture is optical and target-free. Polished metal is the hard case for any optical scanner; test your own items at a demo.
What formats does our comparison software need?
Artec Studio exports OBJ, PLY, STL and E57, which comparison and analysis packages import directly.
Tell us about the work you do
A forensic application specialist will come back with the device that fits it, the accuracy to expect at that scale, and how the data reaches your existing workflow.