Have been playing with an Epilog Laser Engraver and Corel DRAW, the recomended by Epilog, graphics software. the "3D mode" uses the gray scale in the image you provide to determine "depth of burn" - white meaning do not burn at all, black meaning burn to max depth and grays in between determining depth of cut/burn.
Created some gray scale images in PhotoShop, imported them to Corel Draw X3 on the PC that sends data to the laser via a "printer driver" and have run some test samples on mainly flat pieces of redwood, maple, poplar and what may be honey locust. Last laser session was working on curved surfaces on 2 intersecting arcs walnut samples.
Looks like I'll be able to use the laser to "carve" on curved pieces, held in a chuck attached to a shop made jig.
Have put up two pages on what I've found - with pictures.
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Comments, questions and suggestions welcomed charlie b
"charlie b" wrote: (clip) Comments, questions and suggestions welcomed ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Comment: You are really onto something. Keep us posted on new results.
Question: On your website, you say you posterize the gray scale, so it turns into a number of distinct steps. I wonder why you can't just go from the continuous gray scale to the burn.
The web pages are chronological. "Posterizing" permitted me to see distinct gray increments/bands. The original image I created was subsequently copied and various PhotoShop "filters" were applied to copies, and "filtered" copies again copied and had filters applied to them. The original posterized bands enable me to see the effects of various filters more clearly than I could see in unposterized/banded continuous gray scale gradient.
Now that I have an idea of which filters do what with the posterized images I can, as you suggest, keep the finer "stepping" which should refine the laser engraved results. Thanks for the suggestion.
I went to a Makers Faire today - a combination of Burning Man, a Techno Weenie Convention, a Renaissance Fair and an industrial symposium - with
50,000 attendees a day. While there I spoke with a rep from Mathematica, a software application mainly for visualizing mathematical equations and data in a numeric data base. I described my desire to convert a virtual 3D model into a point of view gray scale image I could use with Epilog's 3D mode. He'd not tried to do anything like that, but came up with a method that would work for a hemisphere - in under 10 minutes. I'm going to have to buy Mathematica and see if it'll take in a SketchUp 3D model and, using the approach I was shown, create 3D gray scale image file to feed to the Epilog
Like any tool, I've got a learning curve to climb. Based on three 2 hour sessions with the Epilog, I know the basics of what I can get the Epilog to do. Now I need to learn how to created 3D gray scale images of ideas I come up with for designs.
Will post updates here as I learn more about using this (laser) tool.
They have a $249 Home Edition version and I'm told by one of their sales reps that there's a $99 student version good while still in school and a $149 Student Version Premiere that's good forever. Since one of my sons is enrolled in a Masters Program, maybe I can "borrow" his copy.
I don't need ALL the capabilities of the full blown, industrial strength version of the software package - so maybe there's a version I can afford to try.
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