Carving a Tessellated Surface

[BHStech]

Hello All!

This is my first post, but I've been turning to your collective knowledge for help for the past year or so.

We have a CarveWright machine in our school's woodshop. The old tech teacher never used it, so the current woods teacher and myself have been trying it out and making plenty of mistakes along the way.

One thing we're trying to do is create a complex surface (a tessellated or faceted surface). I've used Illustrator CS4 to create gradients for contoured carvings, but nothing as complex as this. The images below show ideas of what I'd like to carve:
789187891978920

I know that these shapes can be carved from a 3D file on a traditional CNC but I'm unsure how to create similar carvings with the CarveWright.
I came across a NotLabs article (http://www.notcot.com/archives/2015/11/notlabs-making-of-glassesphone.php) that shows their process for creating this type of surface via traditional CNC methods.

I'd greatly appreciate any help you can offer!

Also I'll update with photos of the types of contoured carvings I've done once the school day is over.

Thanks!

[fwharris]

After creating your model export it out as an stl file so it can be imported into designer. Even a gray scale image might work.

Great job of getting your machine out of the box and using it. Shame to know it has been just sitting there..

[bergerud]

Welcome to the forum. What version of Designer do you have? Do you have any of the add on software?

Can you post a picture the pattern you want?

[oscarl48]

There should be no reason why you couldn't carve 3d (actually 2.5d) files as CW patterns but you will need the STL importer add-on. There are several 3rd party software that can create 3d models that can be ported into the CW and pattern created from them. Out of the many add-ons the only one I have is the STL importer and I couldn't live without it. I create 3d models for my pattern building.

I just installed a tessellation module for blender 3d and I'll run a few models to see how they look when I get home. I'll share with the group once I do that.

[BHStech]

Thank you and yes, sure thing!

Project Designer 1.187
Build 10870

We do not have any software add-ons, nor will we anytime soon. The machine was purchased by our school a few years ago and they have no plans to give us more money.

I haven't designed my final pattern yet, but here are some pics of NotLab's model (http://www.notcot.com/archives/2015/11/notlabs-making-of-glassesphone.php), which is very similar to what I'd like to do.
7897878979

Here are my contoured carving examples (serving trays). All my PNGs were created in Illustrator:
789777897478981789757897678980

Thanks,
Dan

[BHStech]

I've been working with 3D modeling and 3D printing for the past 10 years via SketchUp and SolidWorks. It's the import process that I have trouble with.

I don't think the STL Import Add-on is an option unless I can write a grant for the money. I've gotten by with creating gradients in Illustrator and importing them to create patterns, but I don't know if that process will work for the type of carving I want to create.

Thanks

[bergerud]

If you create an STL, we can import it and make a pattern for you.

[BHStech]

Awesome, thank you very much! I'll get started on it ASAP.

[oscarl48]

You can definitely still carve out patterns though it will take a little more post processing from the images. Its all about the angle gradients being represented correctly as color gradients. That is 2d graphics ported as a 2.5d pattern.

To be honest I am terrible at it. Some of the folks on here are true masters at it. So I know its possible and very doable.

Enclosed are two stl and 2d to patterns ports pictures for comparisons. I did these in about 5 minutes so not a lot of complexity and the 2d ports are pretty bad.

For 3d modeling I use blender 3d which is completely free. It has the option to save as images which you can control the light source on the model to give you the color gradient that you need. For 3d modeling it has a tessellate add-on that is just amazing.

The images are of an overlapping twisted torus ring and a tessellated square on a plane.

Dan, also has a great alternative. If you have a specific stl you want ported any one of us can move it over.

[bergerud]

The puffing tool can do this stuff. It is in the 3d advanced tools. Just draw triangles.

[oscarl48]

For all the math nerds out there (I used to be one but I gave it up for beer).


A four leaf clover using klein bottle shapes that can be tessellated on a plane if one wanted to.

[BHStech]

Thank you both for your help! I just tried the puffing tool and it's very easy. It's exactly the tool I was looking for when I first started thinking of designs. I'll have to try and get funding for the add-on.

[Rocketman]

If you decide to do it in Sketchup I'll suggest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-vavolT2dg as a way to create your surface using the very basic Sketchup tools. Another nice plugin for Sketchup is called "Soap Bubble" and it allows things like the "puffing" mentioned by Bergerud. There are a couple of free plugins for the free versions of Sketchup that allow you to export your files as either STl files or DXF files. Many ways to create what your after with the free versions of Sketchup or Art of Illusion which is also free and both can export in STL. Your still going to need a way to get things created outside of Carvewright into the software to make a pattern out of it. I used to tech software for a living and one interesting title was called "Tesselmania" and worth your time to track down a download link somewhere. The program would tesselate your drawings and then output them as image files you could print. Since Carvewright can import image files you may be able to do a Tesselmania project with select colors and import that into Carvewright as a heightmap to give it depth. I'm sure it would be interesting. Links: https://www.google.com/search?q=tesselmania&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiV7Kr3gtXJAhUSjoMKHfHyBrYQsAQILg&biw=1024&bih=657

I just did a search on Amazon and found 20 copies of Tellelmania for sale for .01 cents for used to $5.99 at the highest for a new copy. Just realize this is some really old software that was designed to run even on Dos so getting it to run on a very new computer may be a bit more of a challenge for many that don't remember the early days of computers. The more I look at the pictures people have made with tessellations the more I wish I still had a copy still around myself now that I have a Carvewright. The puffing tool with basic tessellations would prove endless things to carve.