Creating halftone pictures with a cnc machine - lines or dots [Archive]

farredondo

Mon 27 June 2011, 11:52

I've been going nuts for the past month, trying to find out who is the developer of a software that engraves images by making lines or holes. Pretty amazing stuff. Any help?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/decustik/5808729990/in/photostream

http://www.decustik.com/index.php?seccio=cataleg&id=103

By the way, Gracias Señor Geral_D, great site!

fabrun

Mon 27 June 2011, 12:04

it's something you can do with Mach3

Gerald D

Mon 27 June 2011, 12:31

http://www.vectric.com/WebSite/Vectric/pvc/pvc_index.htm

farredondo

Mon 27 June 2011, 12:56

I've been looking at the Mach 3 but I belive this is from a vector creating software, it's called pixel mosaic carving.
http://www.decustik.com/index.php?seccio=catalogo&id=81

danilom

Mon 27 June 2011, 13:09

Interesting, I was also looking for something like that yesterday and came out with this software:
http://www.halftone.com.br/

Did not contact them but found the other way. convert image to halftone by some photo editing tool (photoshop etc.) then import bitmap into Aspire and Trace Bitmap. It produces some irregular shapes but that does not matter, cleanup not needed ones and select all then create Drilling toolpath. Well its a workaround which is not good as their software, because with their software you can use V bit or step drill and it will create variable size dots.
Is someone has a better solution to this other than buying this software please post.
Images created this way are so cool!

Thanks

danilom

Mon 27 June 2011, 15:47

Well this produces much nicer quality but I still cant figure out how to machine it, even using vcarve option the larger dots are not made by simple plunging.

http://designlibertario.wordpress.com/2011/03/03/halftones-com-inkscape/

farredondo

Mon 27 June 2011, 16:16

I've tried that by vectorizing it via Inkscape and Illustrator, but I'm stuck as soon as I get it to Mastercam. Any ideas?

olz

Mon 27 June 2011, 17:41

Salve!

See this topic on (Guia CNC - need register)

http://www.guiacnc.com.br/index.php/topic,7993.0.html

on page 8 is a step by step with images.

Abs.

Paulo Marcos G. Bubolz
----------------------------------
Design libertário - Free files for milling (http://designlibertario.wordpress.com/)

farredondo

Mon 27 June 2011, 18:42

Paulo

Preciso de sua ajuda, por favor, minha conta está sendo aprovado no local do Brasil e estou muito interessado em receber suas instruções. Obrigado

NEED your help please, my account is being approved at the site of Brazil and I am very interested in receiving your instructions. Thanks

olz

Mon 27 June 2011, 21:24

Salve!

Creating vector halftones from bitmaps using Inkscape.

Creating vector halftones from bitmaps using Inkscape.

01 - Open any image in inkscape preferably already in grayscale and with good contrast adjustment.

02 - Change the scale of millimeters to inkscape. Draw a circle in the upper left corner of the image by pressing CTRL so that the shape is perfectly circular, leaving only the outline remove the fill. The size of the circle should be 3 mm for cutting tool VBit 3mmX60°.

03 - Even with the circle selected, go to menu "Edit" click Clone / Create tiled clones.

04 - In the dialog "Create tiled clones" on the "Symmetry" check option "width, height" and enter the values match the height and width of the chosen image.

05 - Still in the dialog "Create tiled clones" click the "Trace" and leave only the options marked "Trace drawing under the tiles," "Color" and "size". Finally click "create."

Delete the first point and original image e pronto!

tomorrow I'll post the configuration of Artcam.

Abs.

Paulo Marcos G. Bubolz
----------------------------------
Design libertário - Free files for milling (http://designlibertario.wordpress.com/)

lumberjack_jeff

Tue 28 June 2011, 00:08

Excellent tip Paulo! I'm going to try this.

normand blais

Tue 28 June 2011, 05:46

poor man photo vcarv

http://www.vectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=8750&view=previous

danilom

Tue 28 June 2011, 05:54

Its not about vcarving, this method looks better to me on large images and with less detail to carve,
my purpose for using HALFTONE is to make large images that will be viewed from some distance, that is where halftone comes to its real purpose. It's just like newspaper images were printed with lots of dots and if you look it with magnifier you see only dots.

I think that the price for Halftone CNC application is mentioned 150$ on a brasilian forum? Could any of the native readers confirm that?

olz

Tue 28 June 2011, 06:26

Salve!

I think that the price for Halftone CNC application is mentioned 150$ on a brasilian forum? Could any of the native readers confirm that?

Yes

R$ 150,00 (Real Brasileiro).

US$ 93,00 (American Dollar).

João Paulo site developer:

http://www.halftone.com.br/ (http://www.halftone.com.br/us/the-halftone-mn-en)

Abs.

Paulo Marcos G. Bubolz
----------------------------------
Design libertário - Free files for milling (http://designlibertario.wordpress.com/)

farredondo

Tue 28 June 2011, 06:49

What I'm trying to acomplish is making large format prints in HDF or aluminum for facades. I'm looking for a better idea for what I'm currently doing rignt now.
http://www.relieves.com.mx/images/Prints%20Model%20Aluminum.jpg
http://www.relieves.com.mx/aluminio/901aluminio2.jpg
http://www.relieves.com.mx/aluminio/al1.jpg
http://www.relieves.com.mx/aluminio/905aluminio1.jpg

Obrigado Paulo, Thanks for the tip!

normand blais

Tue 28 June 2011, 07:02

http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6083&highlight=halftone

Thios one about picture with dots

olz

Tue 28 June 2011, 07:03

Thank you!

I believe you will success with this method.

You can use any shape and not just points (in the case of large areas).

Grande abraço.

Paulo Marcos G. Bubolz
----------------------------------
Design libertário - Free files for milling (http://designlibertario.wordpress.com/)

PEU

Tue 28 June 2011, 11:25

What I'm trying to acomplish is making large format prints in HDF or aluminum for facades. I'm looking for a better idea for what I'm currently doing rignt now.
http://www.relieves.com.mx/images/Prints%20Model%20Aluminum.jpg

That picture is not just holes, it looks like a duotone pasted over a matrix of holes, if you zoom at the image you will see that image edges are not holes but a hole covered partially by the duotone.

I just did the same in coreldraw:

http://i54.tinypic.com/2j3joyv.jpg

Pablo

olz

Tue 28 June 2011, 21:07

Salve!

Halftone configuration in Artcam

01 - Open halftones (Previously created in Inkscape and saved as PDF).
02 - In Tab "Toolpaths" Select V-bit Carving.
03 - In "Tool" select the appropriate tool, in this case V-bit 3mm 60º.
04 - Select "Center line" and limit max 3mm.

Abs.

Paulo Marcos G. Bubolz
----------------------------------
Design libertário - Free files for milling (http://designlibertario.wordpress.com/)

lumberjack_jeff

Wed 29 June 2011, 10:50

Salve!

Creating vector halftones from bitmaps using Inkscape.

I created a "halftone" from a desaturated photo. The full image (below is a small excerpt) is comprised of 25,000 black outlined circles of varying diameter. (Far too dense. At one circle per second that still would take 6+ hours to carve)

How do I get this array of circles into sheetcam? I tried to export dxf from Inkscape, but the resulting file was one, single polygon of about 10 facets approximating the shape of the 3mm circle.

Looking at the image, I think the effect of the actual carved part would be better emulated by using circles with gray fill and without a border.

olz

Wed 29 June 2011, 11:52

EN------------------------------------------------

Hi!

Unfortunately I do not know the Sheetcam.

To export, choose the PDF format.

The fill color does not matter, but remove the edge of the circle is really necessary.

In step 2 where you say to remove the fill, you should remove the border.

"02 - Change the scale of millimeters to inkscape. Draw a circle in the upper left corner of the image by pressing CTRL so that the shape is perfectly circular, leaving only the fill remove the stroke. The size of the circle should be 3 mm for cutting tool VBit 3mmX60°.

I tried to fix but the forum does not allow edit the post.

PT_BR----------------------------------------------

Olá!

Infelizmente não conheço o sheetcam.

Para exportar escolha o formato PDF. Outros formatos podem apresentar problemas.

A cor do preenchimento não importa, mas remover a borda do círculo é fundamental.

No passo 2 onde digo para remover o preenchimento, deve-se remover na verdade a borda.

Tentei corrigir mas o forum não permite editar o post.

Abs.

Paulo Marcos G. Bubolz
----------------------------------
Design libertário - Free files for milling (http://designlibertario.wordpress.com/)

lumberjack_jeff

Wed 29 June 2011, 12:15

Here is a variation on the same process.

The circles are shown against a tan background and with a radial fill emulating a v-carved depression.

PDF isn't a good format to use to input into a cam program, but I was able to successfully import .svg into sheetcam.

This is really a useful technique.

lumberjack_jeff

Wed 29 June 2011, 12:33

Pablo, here's Che using the above technique.

olz

Wed 29 June 2011, 13:20

Infinite possibilities!

Abs.

Paulo Marcos G. Bubolz
----------------------------------
Design libertário - Free files for milling (http://designlibertario.wordpress.com)

danilom

Wed 29 June 2011, 13:39

Halftone rulez ! Thanks Olz!

I tried with friends Artcam and the result is exactly what is needed. Aspire produced the toolpath that produces the same thing but with lots of unnecessary moves which resulted 4x more gcode.

lumberjack_jeff

Thu 28 July 2011, 23:53

http://hackaday.com/2011/07/28/creating-halftone-pictures-with-a-cnc-machine/

olz

Fri 29 July 2011, 06:28

http://hackaday.com/2011/07/28/creating-halftone-pictures-with-a-cnc-machine/

Amazing! link to software:

http://www.students.tut.fi/~syvajar3/

Abs.

Paulo Marcos G. Bubolz
----------------------------------
Design libertário - Free files for milling (http://designlibertario.wordpress.com)

PEU

Fri 29 July 2011, 13:37

Very nice results with that link olz! I used white/black so I can machine, paint and then use sandpaper to remove the paint from the surface leaving the holes painted. for the parameters I used spacing=3 and min/max diameter 1/3 everything else as default.

Will machine it today.

Pablo

KenC

Sat 30 July 2011, 06:08

Very nice stuff!
This is going to be fun but I some how can not get it to open any .jpg files with it. Can anyone show me how?

smreish

Sat 30 July 2011, 06:23

...Must be popular. It the 1/2 tone imaging made the headlines on engadget.com today.

domino11

Sat 30 July 2011, 12:09

Engadget Article (http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/30/cnc-mod-carves-dot-drawing-portraits-for-your-living-room-walls/)

PEU

Thu 04 August 2011, 18:05

Machined a friend photo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njHgg5jnFsU

olz

Fri 05 August 2011, 06:16

Olá Pablo!

Machined a friend photo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njHgg5jnFsU

Ótimo trabalho!

A propósito... estou a procura de um fórum bom sobre CNC em espanhol... Se puder indicar algum agradeceria muito!

Abs.

Paulo Bubolz

PEU

Fri 05 August 2011, 06:50

Tem muitos mais nunca participei neles, so estou aca e na cnczone.

Pablo

lumberjack_jeff

Fri 05 August 2011, 09:51

Machined a friend photo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njHgg5jnFsU

What did you use for CAM software?

PEU

Fri 05 August 2011, 10:10

old version of art cam

quadtech

Sat 06 August 2011, 14:09

PEU

Sat 06 August 2011, 17:17

Maybe you can convince the finish guy who developed the software to use a finite amount of diameters for the circles, then any CAM would do the rest of the job for you.
Even better, from what he has now, posting G-Code directly would be super easy as I'm sure the DXF file export filter needs to specify the center of each circle.

Or maybe a compromise in the middle, just be able to export a text file with the X,Y,Diameter of each hole and then post process it directly to gcode.

Pablo

Kobus_Joubert

Sun 07 August 2011, 05:48

Did one video not show a chap using a 60 deg V-Cutter ? Will the CAM then not tell the Z-axis to go deeper for bigger circles ?

PEU

Sun 07 August 2011, 09:24

yes, you can use V cutter too, I used a ball mill because I used a 4mm MDF sheet, larger holes could go thru the sheet, with a ball mill your spoilboard needs to be dead flat because holes do not go deeper than 0.5mm when you set max circle diameter of 2mm

PEU

Sun 07 August 2011, 10:02

just be able to export a text file with the X,Y,Diameter of each hole and then post process it directly to gcode.

Just for fun today I opened the DXF file generated by the halftone app, each circle has this info:

CIRCLE
8
Default
10
248.036575
20
-10.3113995
30
0.0
40
0.0685546920
0

So, all the info its there, 10=X, 20=Y, 40=Diameter. One just need to calculate the depth of the V cutter or Ball mill based on the diameter of the circle and then gcode is around the corner. Any trigonometric guru reading?

I think can do the code in visual basic given enough time :)

Pablo

ger21

Sun 07 August 2011, 12:32

When I get a chance, I might write a macro to do it in AutoCAD.

Does anyone know a way to get a .dxf of circles out of Inkscape? I've spent the last two hours trying, but it seems that .pdf is the only way that doesn't take forever.

But I do have Aspire that I can use. But an AutoCAD macro would give me a more optimized toolpath

PEU

Sun 07 August 2011, 14:30

Here is what we need to know:

http://i54.tinypic.com/2yvq88z.jpg

ger21

Sun 07 August 2011, 14:54

For a V bit, the depth = Radius of circle/tan (1/2 cutter angle)

For a 6mm circle, with a 60° v bit, the depth = 3/tan(30) = 5.196mm deep

PEU

Sun 07 August 2011, 17:58

A friend of mine offered this solution for the sphere, can you validate it?

c=ballmill radius
d=circle diameter

depth of cut=c-sqrt((c^2)-(d/2)^2)

I will test it empirically with Solidworks :) [edit] works!

Pablo

PEU

Mon 08 August 2011, 06:07

yesterday I sent an email to the developer with the formulas and some comments about how to implement gcode generation to the program, today he replied saying that he was already working on the new version and it should be available today or tomorrow as he was waiting for some betatesters, he even provided this image:

http://i54.tinypic.com/2qls7jn.png

I would like to think that brilliant minds think alike, but he actually did all the heavy lifting :) :)

Pablo

Metalfusion

Mon 08 August 2011, 09:47

Version 2.0 is up!

http://www.students.tut.fi/~syvajar3/kuvat/DXFHalftone20_1.jpg

Path width modulation example video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqksgmyWI3k

Download here:
http://www.students.tut.fi/~syvajar3/

Have fun! I'm looking forward to see your work. :)

PEU

Mon 08 August 2011, 10:21

Amazing Tomi !! and welcome to the forum. BTW, Tomi is the software developer.

For some reason I cannot make the wave method to be shown in the preview, how does preview knows which method to show?

PEU

Mon 08 August 2011, 10:55

general tab, dumb me :)

Travish

Mon 08 August 2011, 15:27

Hi Tomi! Great looking software! Is there an easy way to output the code into inches or to set the software up in inches? Keep up the great work! Really cool, wow!

ger21

Mon 08 August 2011, 16:11

Hi Tomi! Great looking software! Is there an easy way to output the code into inches or to set the software up in inches? Keep up the great work! Really cool, wow!

Just ignore the fact that is says mm's, and enter the numbers you need in inches.

Travish

Mon 08 August 2011, 16:25

Hi Ger, your right....it worked! Thanks. All the code looks good. The program outputs the number to the 10th decimal place. I hope mach will read/run it ok. I'll have to try it out when I get home.

quadtech

Mon 08 August 2011, 21:53

Tomi, that is so amazing!

I would love to have a metal speaker grill (a funky car sub grill, more
like) with a half-toned logo made of the drilled holes :-)
More reasons to build a CNC.
Someday, when the space-time-money conundrum is solved...

Travish

Mon 08 August 2011, 22:37

Grabbed a pc of mdf and a can of black. Mach ran it fine..... 4300 holes, 30 inches per minute, picture is 8.8 x 10.5 ish. I like how simple it is!

KenC

Mon 08 August 2011, 23:08

Hi Tommi,
Great software! It works!
Will try to run on EMC2 once I get a chance.

Thanks for sharing.

quadtech

Mon 08 August 2011, 23:57

Grabbed a pc of mdf and a can of black. Mach ran it fine..... 4300 holes, 30 inches per minute, picture is 8.8 x 10.5 ish. I like how simple it is!

Travis, you may be able to make cloth prints. Coat that mdf with
fabric paint and press it on a T-shirt.
This half-tone stuff is way cool!

Quadro

Tue 09 August 2011, 01:02

Worked no worries with EMC2. Can the software write the gcode for the cut out?

Metalfusion

Tue 09 August 2011, 05:17

Nope, making cutouts is not supported.

Adding that feature would require a new tab of UI and all kinds of parameters such as endmill dia., offset, tabs, pass depth, material thickness, ramped plunges... to be any good.

Making and tweaking the user interface for new features usually takes longer than coding the actual stuff and is frustrating, boring work. I'm starting to understand why Linux coders like to make console apps.

Quadro

Tue 09 August 2011, 06:15

Tomi,
You listed off all the options/parameters just to cut out or profile cut and I could put a tick next to all of those options, it is amazing how I as an end user take coding software for granted.

Metalfusion

Tue 09 August 2011, 07:58

Very cool.
Is there any software to do halftoning using different sized
drill bits, instead of carving?

Edit: I re-read the topic and saw Danilom's post about the brazilian software
which can use stepped drill bits. Really nice!

You could also use the export size parameters on my software to make multiple dxf files, each containing a different size range. Then just use any CAM-software to generate GCodes and change the drill after each set.

PEU

Wed 10 August 2011, 22:07

Another photo, this time my wife:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=op_tHMJI7FY

http://i54.tinypic.com/69j8u9.jpg

Pablo

Kobus_Joubert

Wed 10 August 2011, 23:59

Hey Pablo, you could have used a nicer sheet of wood for such a lovely lady :D

Looking good, mind sharing your sizes, settings and bits used. I tried one the past weekend and it was not THIS good.

PEU

Thu 11 August 2011, 06:45

LOL yeah, I used an old piece of scrap melamine, I will buy mdf coated with melamine that is used for drawer bottoms and cabinet back panels, its only 5mm thick and very cheap because melamine is on one side only, but in the meantime you use what you have at hand :)

I used white/black, a 45deg V bit, min diameter 0.4mm and max diameter 2mm, spacing also 2mm, Z needs to be very accurate using these settings because when the hole is 2mm, and there are many next to each other, there is almost no material left in the surface, and you need it for contrast.
I did not show the other side of the board for a reason :) I set it up a little deeper and in the hair area the holes ate all the melamine.

Kobus_Joubert

Thu 11 August 2011, 07:10

olz

Thu 11 August 2011, 07:17

Salve!

Version 2.0 is up!

Great job Tomi!

It would be possible in future implement halftones with straight lines?

Abs.

Paulo Marcos G. Bubolz
----------------------------------
Design libertário - Arquivos Gratuitos para Fresa/Corte (http://designlibertario.wordpress.com/)

PEU

Thu 11 August 2011, 07:29

OK so basically it is one of those ENGRAVING bits. I used my 90 deg 12mm bit.... I see some contrast, but not good enough.

What is the overall size of the piece ?

Did you wipe in BLACK paint to fill the holes for more contrast or is that the wood colour we see. (brownish)

I used PCB engraving bit, because the bigger one I had that came in a router bits set wasn't pointy enough. Im looking for a local source of this type of engraving bit http://cgi.ebay.com/1-4-Router-CNC-Engraving-V-Groove-Bit-6mmx-32mm-x60A-/130520705284?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item1e63a3e904 it looks pointy as needed for the job.
The board size is 210x210mm. Yes, after machining I used a very liquid mixture of black tint to darken the holes and then wipe the excess with a cloth.

Metalfusion

Thu 11 August 2011, 08:42

Salve!
It would be possible in future implement halftones with straight lines?

Please, do some research before asking. Version 2.0 also does straight lines.

And for everybody else too: If you haven't noticed, there is a user guide in the readme file that comes with the software. It briefly covers every setting and feature that the program has.

No offense :)

PEU

Thu 11 August 2011, 13:14

Non taken :) maybe a little question mark that links to the help file would save you answer that question again.
Looking at the source code I found this comment that made me happy:

'the size limits from dxf export tab also affect the gcode generation

I just tried it and indeed a lot of holes are not created thus saving a lot of time.
In my wife carving it would go from 10081 to 6312 dots, about 40% less machining time

Cool :D

Metalfusion

Sun 04 September 2011, 12:36

Version 2.1 is up!

The changes from version 2.0 mainly consist of some significant bug/glitch fixes. It is highly recommended to update. The dot halftone toolpath is now optimised, it goes back and forth instead of doing long rapids.

Changelog entry:
4.9.2011 V 2.1

Polishing, some important fixes.

IMPROVEMENTS / FIXES:
-Fixed multiple problems with path width calculation algorithm.
-More accurate results with large line spacing values.
-Much less noise / artefacts with small resolution source images.
-Fixed path endpoint sizing problems.
-Improved performance with large image files.
-Optimised toolpath generation ( shorter rapids ) for dot halftones.
-Added "optimiserapids" option to save file format. When set to zero, all path filler lines will be run in the same direction.
-Fixed a nasty memory leak where none of the memory allocated for the path data was freed.
-It was caused by the Blitzmax's carbage collector's inability to handle circular references.
-Now works with huge amounts of filler dots ( tested with over 5 Million dots ).
-Also tested to work with up to 100 Megapixel source images.
-Changed the default settings to give a better first impression.

Download here:
http://www.students.tut.fi/~syvajar3/DXF_Halftone_21.zip

KenC

Mon 05 September 2011, 06:28

Thousand Thanks! This is wonderful!

PEU

Mon 05 September 2011, 12:25

Thanks Tomi, it gets better and better every release. Thanks!!

Pixelated

Thu 08 September 2011, 08:23

I thought I'd just add that you can create these sorts of images in Illustrator with the Object Raster script from Scriptographer.org. e.g.

lunaj76

Sun 30 October 2011, 08:59

Kind of a Half-Tone thing. I wonder how they do this?

http://www.interlam-design.com/Mirage_ProductList.cfm

Jason Marsha

Sun 30 October 2011, 12:25

Perfect for cnc.
Take a peep at their wall panels which they call art diffusion

http://www.interlam-design.com/Art_Product_Search.cfm

Its an impressive gallery of designs of which many can be done with a cnc machine.

PEU

Mon 31 October 2011, 06:56

Kind of a Half-Tone thing. I wonder how they do this?

http://www.interlam-design.com/Mirage_ProductList.cfm

Check: http://jasondorie.com/page_cnc.html (Reactor Entry) the process take time (more resolution, more time) but the result is the same.

It works like a worm eating the photo, at worm speeds :)

JasonDorie

Mon 31 October 2011, 14:00

I have a version of the Reactor software written to use your graphics card for processing, and it is easily 10x faster, more if you have a good card. So far I've been restricting that version to commercial users, but I may change that.

I also have a halftone program with similar capabilities to Tomi's, and a realtime preview.

Jason