After testing foot scanning methods, we built a simpler free tool for foot sizing
A few weeks ago we posted here asking how people would scan a foot for custom 3D-printed insoles.
That discussion was really helpful. One thing I realized is that for many early insole design workflows, a full 3D scan may be more complexity than needed — especially if the first goal is to get reliable foot length and width, then use design parameters like arch type, activity, support level, heel cup, posting, etc.
So I built a simple free tool for this:
The idea is:
Put your foot on A4 or US Letter paper (switch button on top)
Trace the outline with a dark pen
Take a photo from above
Upload it
Adjust the paper corners or control points if needed
Get foot length and max width
For us, this is part of the Ergono3D workflow we are building:
foot input → design parameters → printable insole STL
But I wanted to keep this measurement tool free and usable even if someone just wants a quick reference from a foot trace.
Would love feedback from this community:
- Is A4 / Letter paper a reasonable reference object for this?
- What would make the photo capture more reliable?
- Would you prefer outline tracing, ruler-based calibration, or a simple phone scan for this kind of use case?
- Any obvious measurement problems I should watch out for?
Thanks again to everyone who commented on the earlier scanning post.