ok, please bare with me here. I hope I don't upset anyone for posting this in here, but I wasn't really sure where my question could go. I guess it could go to the program/software section, but to be honest I thought it would just get lost in there. So my question is this.....I want to be able to carve out pictures or sceneary onto wood/glass etc. I would like to know if there are any programs out there that would convert a jpg picture into g-code in order for my cnc to cut it out. I know of a few, but like most they are a bit too much. Deskcnc is the cheapest I believe around $350, and all the way up to artcam or photocarve. I don't mind if I have to do a few steps in order to accomplish my goal, so any help with extactly what programs and procedures I need to do is fantastic. I just want to keep the price down as cheap as I can go. I am planning on using TurboCnc as my main program. I am a newbie here when it comes to programs, so any help...anything would be greatly appriecated. :withstupi :drowning:

There are quite a few that will do it, with varying results. I think all these are cheaper than DeskCNC. Keep in mind that for best results, some photo editing is usually required.

Photo V-Carve http://www.vectric.com/WebSite/Vectric/pvc/pvc_index.htm
MeshCAM http://www.meshcam.com
Acme Profiler http://www2.fwi.com/~kimble/scispec/scispec.htm
Image to G-code http://www.imagetogcode.com/
Mach3 will do it and run your machine. http://www.artofcnc.ca

One thing you need to define what you say "carve out pictures or sceneary onto wood".

V-Carve works by etching the picture into the substrate, then you "bring it out" by selectively staining the area. This gives you essentially a flat surface.

Another method is to do it as a positive or negative relief carving (either raised or lowered). This would look more like the carvings on old Roman and Greek buildings (http://exchanges.state.gov/culprop/italy/fi/00000005.htm)

Some pieces of software will do one and not the other. I don't know any that will do both, but I really haven't looked into the software seriously yet.

Steven

Another one is ImageCarve, http://www.imagecarve.com/ But it is still $295

ger21,
Will the trial version of Mach3, genarate the g-code for carving a photo. Or do you have to buy Mach3 to do this?

Yes and no. It will, but it's limited to 1000 lines of g-code, and a photo would normally produce many, many times that. I just tried it (I have the demo version on this machine) and it will give you 1000 lines of code, but that would only make up a very,very small portion of an image.

ger21,

Thank you for the info :)
I'll buy the Mach control, just gotta build my machine first!

Carving photos with some of the software mentioned, Mach3 included, is not necessarily as simple as load the picture, start cutting. It can sometimes take a lot of photo editing, as well as a lot of trial and error. And once you get it right, expect it to take several hours per photo.

I use Acme Profiler. $20 and you get code to boot. Works well. Produces GCode and has on screen adjustments mill type and offsets.

Here,s yet another
AlgoLab Photo Vector 1.98.54 Price US $58
http://www.algolab.com/Photovector.htm

I just downloaded AlgoLab Photo Vector 1.98.54 and tried it out or a real photo with glare and all sorts of colors and crap.

All I can say is WOW, I'm still speachless (I'm glad I don't have to talk in order to type). It totally blows other converters like wintopo (now my former converter) out of the water.

Take a picture of the result...I'm sure we'd all like to see what you made.

-- Chuck Knight

Hi Chuck,

Here are the pics (original and the vector result). I tried the same pic in WinTOPO and Aide PDF to DXF and got nothing but glare from the conversion with both programs. Keeping in mind that I'm a violin maker explains the nature of the pics. I still haven't had the results I have been looking for with a human face yet though (I'm reading the ebook "supermodels with Rhino3D" right now, hence the attempt with the human face). If anyone does have luck with the human face please post your settings and method.

The original files were all to big to post so I had to resize them, in the case of the vector I had to reduce it to a jpeg and resize it from there as opposed to posting the original dxf.

Steven