[gaelen]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to all things CNC and am interested in creating some bas relief images. I have played around with a few programs for converting image files into g-code, and I was curious if anyone had any favorite programs or methods for making the image into bas relief. Or, put another way, I'd like to carve out more of the negative space around the original image, so the result could be something like the image egyptian art below.

All input is welcome : )

Thanks!

[Novuminfo]

I have examined the problem you have raised.
The best solution would be to create an STL model of this object using a 3D scanner, such as a dental scanner, and make it with a 3D printer.
But since you seem to have only one 2D image, nothing else can be used to make a 3D model that accurately reproduces the sculptured shape of the relief. Although various softwares was also offered to me, they were not suitable for this task.
Since you want to remove the areas between the shapes, there is no choice but to draw around the contour of the shapes by hand with a suitable CAD system and draw them out slightly in the Z direction. I did this work, see the pictures. Such an STL model could already be manufactured with a 3D printer without the need for G code. But since you wrote about G code, you were obviously thinking of cutting. Here you also need to know what CNC control would be used. You didn’t specify how big a piece you would need, I assumed machining a 60x35 mm piece that would fit in the workspace of a dental milling machine.
Pocket milling cycles are available on advanced CNC controls to remove the area between shapes by machining, where it is sufficient to enter the XY coordinates of the contour lines, but a lot of material remains in such a crowded area because the tools do not fit in many places. Later I will examine such a version as well, but in the attached example I made the G code using the STL model for PMMA material with the PiCam5 dental software, see Novum IT Limited . Although the smallest tool here is D0.6 in diameter, there is still quite a bit of material left in the places where this tool did not fit. See the attached figure with the machining holders and the first few lines of the long machining program. The dental CAM program works with hemispherical tools, but even if you find CAM software that generates G-code for cylindrical tools, the material will remain in the corners in the same way.
If you write to me at [email protected] , I will send you the DXF file containing the contours.
Attachment 475932Attachment 475940Attachment 475934Attachment 475936Attachment 475938

[awerby]

I find that DeskProto does a good job at this sort of thing. But you have to realize that a heightfield algorithm can't read your mind to figure out how you want the thing to turn out. It's very simple; light pixels go high, dark pixels go low (or vice-versa). So if you want your grayscale image to produce a relief where the figures stand out and the ground recedes, you need to prepare the image ahead of time to assure that result. Using a 2D graphics program like Gimp or Photoshop on the original image, you can selectively darken the areas you want deeper, lighten the ones you want higher, or reverse the image if everything seems backwards. Then when you process it in the CAM program, you'll be happier with the results.

[Novuminfo]

We tried Gimp for edge detection,with Filters\Edge-Detect\Laplace but I didn't like the result, shown in the picture. Made by a friend of mine who is not an experienced Gimp user. Would you please create a machinable STL model from this image in the layout shown in the previous images and send it to the email address provided in the last line of my previous comment? Then I will generate a 5D machining for it with the Picam5 software.