[subsoniq]

Hi, i have read some about heightmapping think that might be the way to go with this.

I want to import a scanned seafloor picture from the ocean that has been scanned with a Sidescan Sonar.
The data is saved in an open fileformat, XTF file, and i want to find out how to get this translated to a 3d picture that can be milled with a CNC after creating G-Code with Cambam.

Anybody has any tips about this?

Would be so awesome to create a 3d milled object with the oceanfloor for reference to diveshops around.

[Winks]

This is a great idea. I would like to know how to do that also.

[mcphill]

Here is a free viewer: Download | DeepVision If you can view the image, you should be able to take a screenshot. Use that to set up a heightmap using other software, then that can be used to make a CAM file.

[zool]

try using the conversion capabilities in inkscape

also go to cnc4free.com, click on Essentials and have a look at 3DPaysage, CRAZYBUMP, and any of the several other programs..some of which were not originally made to do this...

[subsoniq]

Thank you for your reply´s. Everything is appreciated!

So i just want to summarize a bit to see if i have understood right.

I need some software that can read the sonar files and export them either to a BMP, or preferably directly to a Height map file of some sort.
Then it can then be read into the CAD software, sliced up and then read by a CAM software like Cambam, made into g-code and milled with the CNC.

I have never worked with height map files before. What are the standard heightmapping fileformat?
I read the wiki on heightmap but couldnt find any standards.
Heightmap - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I bet this is very normal procedure when people work with 3d scanners, so maybe i should search some more about that.

Anybody have a way of getting the sonar files over to heightmap ?

Sorry if i misunderstood something, i am a bit new to this.

[ralfg]

hello subsonic,
at first you need a converter, for converting the xtf file to a bitmap format like tiff, bmp or jpg. Best is a grayscale image for doing heightmaps in cambam.
It works in the way that a percent of gray is a definated height.
I.e. you define a target depht from 10mm, a gray of 10% will make a height of 1mm, 50% gray=5mm and so on. For this a coloured image is not the best, because there are no difference between i.e. 50% green and 50% red.
In cambam you have two different ways to mill it.
First is the heightmap generator. This makes polylines from the image. You can use only a engraving mop for making the g-code. This means that the generated polylines must have the distance you want to mill this.
Second and better way is to make a 3D object from a bitmap, with menue > draw > 3D Surface > from bitmap.
With this object you can use every 3D mop for milling.

I don´t know a XTF file. I read that this is a file with coordinates. Perhaps you can format it for use menue > draw > 3D Surface > from textfile.
Perhaps you can upload a testfile.

ralf

[zool]

I made a mistake..its cnc4free.org NOT cnc4free.com