"We've visited various makerspaces," write Adam Brandejs and Drew Cox, "and we were surprised to find a lot of people that had bought 3D printers didn't really know what to do with them." Jeez Louise, I can tell you what to do with them! Assuming affordability, I'd use a 3D printer to create precisely-sized tool cutouts as custom drawer inserts, to organize my hand tools; I'd make a nozzle adapter to turn a Shop Vac into a micro-vac for cleaning inside dusty machines; I'd make cases to carry irregularly-shaped objects.

All of those things require CAD files of the objects they'll carry and fit into, and that's where Brandejs and Cox come in. They're the multitalented desigers/programmers behind Matterform, a Toronto-based startup trying to get an affordable 3D scanner on the market. By making it easier to get input data, they're thinking, a barrier to 3D printing will be lowered.

Matterform has spent a year working on the prototype for their Photo 3D Scanner, and it looks pretty sweet:

Next step? Getting the thing funded so it can go into production. The Photon is currently up on Indiegogo, and while the $349 Early Backers price is sold out, there's still plenty of slots left to claim a first-batch unit at $399.

At press time the Photon was up to $61,541 of an $81,000 target, and with 30 days left to pledge, it looks like this thing will happen.