I am completely new to cnc routing and would like to purchase software, should I invest in a cnc router, that will enable me to
create 3d profiles of an imported photograph onto wood. I think Lazycam may be the answer but would like advice from those who know what they are talking about.
Please bear in mind I am pre Luddite and this is as alien to me is the string theory.
Thanks for any assistance you can give.
Denis0996

First, it is VERY important to understand that there is no 3D information in a photograph. Some systems convert the level of gray of a given pixel to a depth of cut. In general that method works very poorly. ArtCAM has some nice built in tools to help you go from a photograph to a relief (but it runs around $8,000 USD. I think Vetric V-Carve will some some manipulation of photos into a a sort of line art carving with a V-bit, but it is not really a relief (3D).

In short, there is no software than can do this automatically, as a photograph does not provide any 3D data.

Thank you.
Would a black and white drawing be possible. e.g. the black areas for instance, highlighted and the cutter set to a certain depth?

dennis, if you want to contact me I'll be happy to get you straight on what ArtCam can do and its correct pricing. We are an ArtCam dealer.
Gary

Dennis, perhaps you can elaborate a bit more on what you are trying to accomplish, someone can helps steer you in the correct direction. If your just wanting to cut gemometirc shapes to a certain depth then LazyCam will do that. If your wanting to do something with photographs (people, etc) then ArtCAM is hard to beat.

I know nothing about Artcam but I do use Vcarve pro. As mentioned above, getting from photo to 3D isn't just a mouseclick away but I have to imagine it is possible with some work.

VCarve itself wouldn't help you with photos but PhotoVcarve (same people) has a lot of stuff built in. You can check the demo at http://www.vectric.com They also have forums and lots of discussion about the products. The forum link is in the support link (lower left).