Hello to all, since quite a time I am looking for a software, which can convert simple b/w drawings into 3D coordinates. For example let us take a plain circle. After conversion this circle should be a 3D ring, if you cut it, the intersection looks like a semicycle or triangle. The usage should be for converting b/w line drawings into 3D. Like a "software engraving machine" Does anyone knows of such a software ? Thx for your input. Heinz
Is this what you mean: https://www.shapeways.com/creator/image_popper or something more complex? Cheers, Stijn
Yes, this can be a good start. Unfortunately this tool can only be used online, I want to use it offline on my laptop during vaction. More complex can also be good, i.e. modifying the shape (steep angle, flat angle etc.) Thx a lot Heinz
I tried the "image popper" but it is not really what I need. There is no control of whatsoever, nice for nameplates though, but thats it. I uploaded a Seal, but there is no way to check, whether the details might come out well or not. Does anybody have another idea, which software to use for this type of conversion ?
I have no real idea of what these apps can do: http://www.123dapp.com/ But I hear it is easy to use and good entry level. Otoh I have been dabbling with creating a program (windows only atm) that takes images and outputs a mesh based on b/w values, what exactly do you need, perhaps you can serve as trial
Online Raster-to-Vector Conversion System https://www.roitsystems.com/cgi-bin/autotrace/tracer.pl https://autotrace.sourceforge.net/ Upload your bit map image here, type in the output box 'dxf' there are different options by clicking '?'. Retrieve the dxf output which you generated.. Export your file as an STL file from your cad software, upload to Shapeways.
I think you need to be a little more specific about what you're doing because different applications can help you achieve your goals in different ways. For example, if you're not worried about precise structured shapes, you could try using something like Mudbox to use a 2-D image as a sort of stamp. Realistically the best way to make 3-D models is to learn to use 3-D software, and it probably doesn't matter that much which application you use. You can still find copies of GMax out there, which is a free version of 3DS Max with no renderer, so you can use it for modeling. You could also try Wings3D, which is also free.