Hi everyone,
We use our Mini to make custom light buckets for our RC cars. Creating a suitable 3D model is the hardest part, especially for modern vehicles with curved surfaces.
So we mounted a micro-switch on a cradle, secured that cradle onto the hot-end,
A Python program emits G-code and probes the switch. The program outputs a polyhedron in OpenSCAD format, which can then be further processed to make the finished light bucket. It worked surprisingly well.
This does not replace a real 3D scanner; it is only suitable to scan semi-vertical surfaces.
If you want to play around with it, you can find the code and documentation on Github: https://github.com/laneboysrc/contour-probe
YouTube video with more explaination:
http://youtu.be/WyG0qMrKR8U
cheers, Werner