1. Turntable
The turntable holds the magnetic holder upon which the ear impression rests during scanning. The clean and non reflective ear impression is attached to the three pins of the magnetic holder and is fixed in the centre of the turntable by a magnet. The turntable has calibration markers allowing the exact detection of the position of the impression. The markers will also be used for calibration purposes.
During scanning the turntable is turned through 360°  rotation and tilted up to 90° to enable the camera to obtain images of the impression from different angles and positions. The tilt of the turntable is selected to maximize scanning coverage of the impression.

2. Projector
The projector projects a colour code slide at the ear impression. The colour coded images taken by the colour camera are the input for the 3D reconstruction algorithm. Another external light source is used to illuminate the impression in order to be able to take a picture of the impression by the colour camera.

3. Colour camera
The digital colour camera is responsible for taking colour coded images of the impression from many different angles which will be used for 3D calculation. A second task of the camera is to take normal images, without colour codes, of the ear impression which are displayed during the scan process. The camera takes 30 - 40 images of each impression.

4. Light source
The light source (LED) is integrated into the acquisition chamber. The LED illuminates the ear impression on the turntable with pure white light. Additionally, it projects a grid pattern of coloured light onto the ear impression.

5. Motors
iScan features two motors. The motors turn and tilt the turntable in the horizontal and vertical planes.

6. Control unit
The control unit includes the firmware responsible for controlling the iScan hardware. Examples of the controlled components are:
· The motors that move and tilt the turntable.
· The projector that projects the colour coded light onto the impression.
· The colour camera that takes colour images which are sent to the PC via USB.
The controller also exchanges information via USB between iScan and the PC.

7. USB hub
A USB hub inside the iScan provides four USB interfaces. Two interfaces are occupied. One for data exchange between camera and PC and the second one for the control unit.
At the outside of the iScan housing two USB plugs are available for connecting any USB devices such as printers etc.
The USB hub of the iScan is positioned on the outside housing at the very top of the connection-plugs. It connects the 3D scanner to the PC.
The USB hub powers the camera and the control unit at the same time.
Besides the iScan to PC connection there are two additional USB plugs, which are positioned on the back of the iScan below the USB hub. They provide additional connections to USB-equipment such as printers.
The USB hub offers three USB plugs. One of these is to connect the scanner to the PC, the other two are for free usage.