Scanned, then carved...result very rough

[TurtleCove]

I just scanned in an applique with the probe, with the "best" setting.
Upon carving it out in maple, the resulting carve is very rough. The original is very smooth, but yet the resulting carving is quite rough all over its entire surface.

Any ideas?

[Amonaug]

Post a sample of the scan and .mpc?

Did you clean up the scan in pattern editor? Did you set the pattern in the project to Best Bit Optimization?

[TurtleCove]

Here's a pic of the original object I scanned, and the carved result.

[TurtleCove]

Here's the .mpc

[TurtleCove]

You know, when you zoom in on the .mpc, you can see the roughness there, in the project.

[cnsranch]

TC

You're right - pretty rough, and that's exactly like how it will carve.

Take the pattern back into Pattern Editor, and play with the smoothing and blurring functions - it doesn't take much to get rid of the roughness - too much and you lose the detail of your scan.

Consider saving the pattern with a second name - that way you don't risk losing the original scan - that way, if you go too far with editing, you can always go back to the original.

Manipulating the scans and making them spot on is why they pay us the big bucks :):)

[TurtleCove]

Thanks for the input, CNS. I like that pattern looks exactly like the carving. That means that all I have to do is take it back the Pattern Editor. So, I'll get to know that editor better, and hopefully I'll get better results. Thanks again.

[mtylerfl]

Thanks for the input, CNS. I like that pattern looks exactly like the carving. That means that all I have to do is take it back the Pattern Editor. So, I'll get to know that editor better, and hopefully I'll get better results. Thanks again.

Hello,

It looks like the scan item might have been moving (vibrating) when the original scan was performed. Any scan will have a slight texture due to the way the touch probe works, but the texture on yours seems excessive from normal.

It would be difficult to clean up that much roughness in the Pattern Editor without making it look like what I call the "melted chocolate effect" that inexperienced folks often produce when overusing the smooth and blur tools. (I have seen that very often in the sharing depot and even in the Pattern Depot on several patterns people made from scans.)

If it were me, I would probably scan it over again, making sure that the item is very secure and will have no movement whatsoever during the scan.

Another possible cause for excessive texture is that the scan item was a soft material (like unfinished pine, for example). The probe applies enough pressure that it will slightly "dig into" a soft material just enough to yield an excessive textured surface. A fix for this is to brush on a light coat of thin or "Zap-a-Gap+" CA (super glue from a hobby store that sells the different viscosities) over the entire surface to give it a hard, glossy coat. You have to work extremely quickly using a disposable metal handled glue brush. You can get a pack of them at a home improvement store (Lowes has them in the plumbing section for applying flux to copper pipes).

Experiment with a scrap first to get a feel for the technique before applying it to your actual scan object. The thin CA sets up without warning and gets very hot during the curing process, so don't touch it with your fingers. It's like painting on varnish at high-speed! You just drip a bunch on the object and start spreading it out with the brush as fast and evenly as you can. It only takes a couple minutes to do. (The brush will become hard as a rock when the glue sets and cannot be reused.)

It will give the object an almost porcelain-like surface that should help reduce the texture. The original object should probably not be CA coated if it is a precious, irreplaceable or valuable item.

[mtylerfl]

Thanks for the input, CNS. I like that pattern looks exactly like the carving. That means that all I have to do is take it back the Pattern Editor. So, I'll get to know that editor better, and hopefully I'll get better results. Thanks again.

Hello again,

Just a suggestion...post the mpw file of your scan. We can take a look at it and see the extent of the roughness a little better from the raw scan itself rather than from just the photo of the carve or the mpc.

[TurtleCove]

Michael, I'll simply rescan, and make sure it's mounted securely.
Thanks for all the info.

-dirk
www.thinboards.com
(lowest price on the web for thin boards...guaranteed)