cnc scaning?

[charlieuk]

Drawing them is fine and I have a cad program for that there is even a add on program you can get specifically for scanning so it is just the hardware that I need to sort.

It is possible to do it manually but its taking the measurements that is the problem and its not just my own boards I want to scan, I also like to keep details of as may boards as I can that I have used and break down the designs to compare and it can take literally hundreds of measurements just to start with.

I have used a disto fixed to my gantry and moved it at increments and taken measurements but it is very slow and hard to get accuracy around tight curves.
It appears that most are using some sort of photoelectric sensor to take measurements but that is about all I can figure. The pro tools link looks to be in the right area but would like to know how much more there is to it as it looks like a photoelectric sensor too and you can get one from 50-200 pounds not 1500

edit: from my research apparently the camera style systems do not work well on objects that are relatively smooth surfaces as they find it hard to fix recognize the different point between scans