Photographer who wants to make 3-D images of his photos

[zenmasher]

Hello all,

I have been reading the vast (I mean really!) amount of information on this forum and my head is spinning. For over a year now I have been toying with the idea of making 3-D images (wood and foam) of my portrait work and finally have pulled together about $2500.

My intention was to buy the Carvewright, but the reviews are so mixed that I was thinking I would toss a question out and see what comes back. Some people seem happy with the Carvewright, others clearly not. Frankly, my lack of experience make the DIY models intimidating and the more professional models are way out of my price range. I did find a link to this machine on one thread
http://www.romaxxcnc.com/main.html

One of the complaints about the Carvewright is the size limitation, but it seems to me that the Romaxx is even more limited. Are there other options? Any suggestions?

Thanks.

[ViperTX]

Welcome.

When you say 3D....are you thinking of stuff like a "head bust"?

Do you know what size of 3D object you want to be able to produce?

Are you looking for a turn-key solution?

Paul

[zenmasher]

Hi Paul,

Those are great questions. I was thinking of photo reliefs...where the head does have a three dimensional lift off of the field (not sure if I am using the correct language). I have seen some really exciting 3-D imagining (lots of skulls interestingly enough) in foam...used to create molds, perhaps? (Also something I do...by hand.) I would like to make portrait work...at least for the time being as large as 11 x 17 or something in that range...larger if possible. Ideally, at some point, once I get the skill, I would like to go really large.

Had to look up the term turn-key...by that do you mean a machine that shows up, gets unpacked and is ready to go...or something else?

Thanks for your fast reply.

Peas, Ian

[lovebugjunkie]

zenmasher

What software are you planning to use for converting your portrait to g-gode so your machine can cut it?

george

[zenmasher]

Another good question .... that really reveals my ignorance. Sorry. I hadn't really gone that far yet and was real just thinking about hardware. But am I intuiting that I need to think about hardware and software simultaneously? Again, I think this is why that Carvewright system looks so good to people like me. All in one package. My concern is that there is something much better just beyond the horizon of the impulse purchase of an all-in-one machine.

[johnmac]

Take a long look at what the software can for YOU. From what I have read, you are pretty much locked into their software.

John

[Fixittt]

I think Zenmasher is wanting to do some stuff like these.

unfortunately your budget that you have stated is a bit limited. Also what size of products are you wanting to do? What materials? Seeing as you mentioned the carvewright machine, not very big pieces. A desktop cnc about the size of the minitech minimill 2 (www.minitech.com) would probably be fine. Or a taig for that matter. Software on the other hand and the learning curve is what is going to get you.
I did these with artcam software

[mcyr]

Zenmasher,

If you are going to only apply the CNC for the application you spoke about in wood or foam, then the Romaxx system will get you there quickly. But you are asking for options...one is to build your own cnc. There are lots of good plans that are available. I've built David Steeles Solsylva table for less than $2500 and I have more "volume" to work within than the Romaxx. But the Romaxx is MUCH faster. One thing I didn't see mentioned on the website is whether these machines come with steppers and a control board.

For your application you are going to need some software that can turn your photos into an image that can eventually be turned into machine commands (i.e, g-code). I don't know anything about the Carvewright, but the first thing you need to determine is if it can even do what you are thinking about doing. If it does, then you might consider this as a lower cost option. Several years ago they were <$2000. You might check the Sears website to see if anyone has done what you want to try. Possibly someone has made some comments and given a rating for this application that might be of some help to you.

If you want to go with a DIY machine or purchase a Romaxx, then you might start looking at software like BMP Bender (do a search for this on this forum). It can create STL files (stereolithography), that can be imported into a CAM program like MeshCAM to create gcode. The output file of MeshCAM can them be run on your machine, presumably running something like Mach3.

Be forewarned...once you start down this exciting path and actually start using a cnc, you'll likely start to see more applications than you intended. So it pays to think a little beyond what your original application may be. I built my machine for the purpose of making foam wings for r/c airplanes. After 2 years I've yet to even try other than proving to myself that it can be done at 1/8th the intended scale. But I have built a wooden geared clock, made my own circuit boards for other projects, and a bunch of other things. Like the adage that if your only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail, well, if you have a cnc mill, everything looks possible with a (insert your favorite endmill type/size here). Well almost. Sometimes you need a CNC lathe!

Good luck,
Mike

[cabnet636]

i purchased a carvewright in july 0f 07, by october i hit the brick wall of this is as far as it will go. no gcode closed controlled system toy plastic parts, my budget at the time was not so limiterd and i have purchased two larger machines, but in good concious this machine (carvewright) will be a true waste of money for what you are asking of it, carvewright has shown no signs of growth in machine nor compatatility with the rest of the cnc world

jim mcgrew

[zenmasher]

If it wouldn't be too much of a hassle, I would love to come by and see your set-ups. I truly feel in the wilderness and perhaps would get a better understanding if I could see someone's set-up in person.

Thanks for everyone's comments so far.

Peace, ian

[lovebugjunkie]

I have a HS1 from Romaxx. The base machine comes with controller board, Geckos and steppers. Add a spindle and mount of your choice which is extra cost. Plug it into your PC. load the xml file for your machine into Mach3 and you are ready to cut.

I was cutting test parts within 1 hour of Fedex dropping it at my door. Could have started sooner but I had no idea how to run Mach3.

[MonoNeuron]

I also like the Romaxx,
It's rapids are fast and the whole thing is well made and has self cleaning V-guides and seems to be good for the price from what I have seen of it.
Mach3 is expanding all the time with some great plugins from some wonderful programmers out there. You could buy Photo V Carve from the people at V-Carve pro for what you are wanting to do but it carves thin lines at varying widths to simulate the picture so it may not be what you want.
I think ArtCamPro has this feature but the price tag is about $10K so probably not what you want.
Rich.