Can the designer extrude a scanned molding?

[joelumber]

Hello everyone,
I'm considering buying the CarveWright machine for making custom moldings. But I can't quite find out if the machine and the designer software are capable of scanning a sample of molding, producing a 2d profile for it, then extruding the 2d profile into straight or radius molding. Can anyone tell me if the machine with the scanning probe and its included software are capable of this. If not, what software would I need to accomplish it? Thanks for your thoughts.

[Jeff_Birt]

Currently the probe software can't do what your asking. It's editing capabilities on scanned items is very basic. (but still usefully and better than nothing).

There might be a few ways around this however.

A) You could try just stretching the scanned pattern out horizontally in Designer (once you scale it to life size). If you are transforming it perpendicular to the profile in question the distortion should be minimal.

B) You could scan the item and convert the resultant pattern to a image file with this little program that I wrote: http://www.carvewright.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4099&highlight=CarveBetter

Then you could copy the image multiple times and stitch them together in PhotoPaint or PhotoShop and convert back to a pattern. This would be a lot of work and scanned items have the annoying habit of coming up smaller in Designer than the original. (BTW, the next version of the program I mentioned above has a 'Life Size' button that will automatically rescale a pattern from a scanned item to 'Life Size' ;) )

C) After scanning and converting to an image as above you could then try a program like ZSurf, which I think can generate a surface from the scanned pattern turned into an image (really a height map).

Hope that helps...

[usd5000000]

Hello Jeff, what software do you use whip up your "little" programs? I haven't wrangled with programming for a while so I was wondering what people were using out there.

Thanks,
Jeff

[Traveler]

The simple answer to your question is that the CC/CW can make some very impressive and complicated moldings. I have made a few dozen feet of various types of rope moldings for use on a fireplace mantle and supporting columns. SWMBO was very impressed. Note that the CC/CW has a limited life and if there is any other way to make the moldings, that would most likely be cheaper.

The problem, of course, is in getting the pattern. In most cases these can be generated with some kind of art program. The rope moldings I made took a dozen hours of work to get things right. If you are good with an art program, you can probably get whatever you want out of the CC/CW. If you want someone else to make a pattern for you, it probably won't happen.

I do not have a probe and do not intend to get one. I have used a digital camera to take pictures of objects, then used an art program to whip that into something carveable.

T

[rjustice]

Joelumber,
If it is a definable smoothe shape that would look like an extrusion (like crown molding) see this thread (http://www.carvewright.com/forum3/showthread.php?t=4221). If you have a repeatable pattern, you could have someone scan it, then if you have a little patience, find the repeat in the pattern, cut it off , then cut and paste it over and over to create the length you need. I think it is very do-able, it really depends on the time you wish to put into it. Also, if you can wait a couple weeks on it, there are several guys that will create a pattern for you using your artwork. It is pretty reasonable, and i would think it would be a piece of cake for them to find the repeat in the pattern and make it whatever length you want.

Ron