Question for the 3D Guys

A member at my sign forum is going into 3D CNC routing and is looking for software to aid him in taking any given image (such as a JPG) in 2D and end up with a 3D file in DXF format. My experience in this area is practically nil and I am wondering if any of Filter Forge's map generating capabilities should be recommended to him as part or all of a solution and how it would fit in.

Thanks Corvus ... that's very helpful.

There's a number of CAD programs tailored specifically for jewelery use (including heightmap conversion) I'd google around and see if any of those offerings might be closer to what you're looking for as well.

Hi Sign Guy,

I've been doing 3d for a few decades now, and have researched and done the 3d print and cnc process several times over.

From your post I gather he wants to take an image and turn it into some sort of an extrusion or 3d model using the image and some "magical" software. Its possible for extrusions to do this sort of thing. displacement maps can be created using 32 bit tif files.

I wouldn't use a Jpeg or anything that is low rez or compressed since the cnc can do very accurate cutting and a low res model would look like the equivalent of a person cutting the surface with a hack saw.

I use Zbrush for most of my modelling and there are several posts on the zbrush forum that deal with creating jewelry and sculpted models for cnc and 3d printing.

The nice thing about a program like zbrush is that you can use the low rez jpeg as a bump or brush to create a rough extrusion. Uprez the model to well over 4 million polygons, smooth, add details, then Decimate it to a resolution that can be printed by a 3d printer or CNC mill (they aren't capable of the kinds of poly counts you can get out of modern 3d software).

One other thing to consider is that CNC is capable of doing "undercuts" for complex models but those machines capable of it costs well over 100 thousand dollars. In contrast 3d Printers can do any kind of model imaginable, though not with as fine a finish as a cnc machine. 3d printers cost anywhere from 15 thousand to 100 thousand depending on several factors, but a 20k machine can print very fine models as long as the envelope is smaller than say 8 x 12 inches depending on the machine.

Hope that helps.