Anybody have 3d engraved pieces to show?

[David Fairfield]

So far it seems the least used of the laser's potential. I recall Dee has done some beautiful work with her Epilog. And I just saw this demo piece from Kern, and was pretty darned impressed with it!

Click to expand. Note the scale reference thumbtack on the right, which shows how fine the engraving is. (I have no affiliation with Kern)

Dave



Kern3d.jpg

[Dan Hintz]

That's a lovely example... and unfortunately unrepresentative of what most of us can do in a reasonable period of time with the powers we work with. I believe the Kern examples are done with a 120-150W system (though the high power density optics reduces that requirement quite a bit)? Us lowlifes with 45-60W systems need to do multiple runs, and anything bigger than a postage stamp takes a while.

[Bruce Boone]

Wow. Very nice. I've never tried anything like that. I assume it's from a CAD drawing, and deeper stuff just gets a different color lines than the upper stuff? Or does it interpret a grayscale picture and dig levels automatically from that? That's a technique I would definitely love to use with my new laser.

[Dan Hintz]

Bruce,

Grayscale... you'll use ULS's 3D settings. I haven't tried to do anything that extreme, but the 3D with 16 power sliders is a nice option to have/use.

[Zsolt Paul]

Basket Weave border.jpgRose-drawer-maple.jpgDiamonds3d.jpgBasket Weave cabinet.jpg3D-Leaves parquet.jpgPolynesian Sunburst.jpgHere are a couple of examples 3D I had done.2-Grapes-3D-carving-zoom.jpg

[Rodne Gold]

What I would like to know is : has anyone actually made any decent money out of doing 3d pictures?
In 10 years lasering , in a real busy shop , we have never had an enquiry let alone sold a 3d lasered object.

[Dan Hintz]

I use it as an accent feature in projects, not the project itself.

[Bruce Boone]

I will use the snot out of that technique in rings. Very cool. I guess it would take some fiddling to get a normal photo to do the effect. It would be great for a customer to send in some pics and have those etched into a ring. I suppose as long as it looks OK in gray scale, it could be close.

[Zsolt Paul]

What I would like to know is : has anyone actually made any decent money out of doing 3d pictures?
In 10 years lasering , in a real busy shop , we have never had an enquiry let alone sold a 3d lasered object.

If I didn't have 23 yrs of customer base in the wood flooring industry, there would be very little money in it. However, honing in on a very small niche of a large client base in high end jobs, yes, its been great many times.

[Chuck Stone]

What I would like to know is : has anyone actually made any decent money out of doing 3d pictures?
In 10 years lasering , in a real busy shop , we have never had an enquiry let alone sold a 3d lasered object.

I've never had an inquiry either, but then nobody knows I'm here! LOL
But I do 3D or 2.5D pen blanks all the time. They sell fairly well for a product
that doesn't get advertised.. and some cold cast bronze 3D-ish stuff for pen
box inserts too. Nobody asked for them, but once you show them around there
is interest.Scales.jpghunterbox.jpgFD Box.jpgRush1.jpgRush2.jpg

ps.. it's all Dee's fault. Once she posted a 3D sample it got the little
brain hamster up and running..

[Dan Hintz]

Bruce,

A photo won't typically give you a proper 3D effect as seen in the Kern example, and therein lies the rub... a lot of time is spent making an image like that (if you ever see the image it's created from, you'll see why it doesn't look normal). You can fake the look if you're only seeing the engraving from one direction, but the Kern example is "true" 3D from any angle (within reason, of course).

[Keith Outten]

Sorry guys it isn't 3D its two and a half D.

There is a feature in Aspire for processing bitmaps for laser engraving that is supposed to do a good job. I own Aspire but I haven't had an opportunity to try this feature yet. Has anyone here used Aspire to convert a bitmap to engrave?
.

[Bruce Boone]

I have used ArtCAM to do some 3D relief before. Here's a sample of that in silver.
pendant1.jpg

[Dan Hintz]

Sorry guys it isn't 3D its two and a half D.

I consider this more like 2.75D rather than 2.5D

2.5D is a typical relief... the Kern example is cut so deeply that it has to be better than plain ol' 2.5D. That buggy [u]really[u]stands out from the front of the store, and the bricks are superbly defined. Yep, 2.75D

[Bruce Boone]

I would love to see what the artwork for the original picture looks like.