Michael J. Denest wrote:
> I am looking for software that will take a scanned image (.TIF, .GIF, etc.)
and
> manipulate it into a .DXF or similar CAD file. My objective is to be able to
> scan a drawing or picture, manipulate as necessary and plot. Any suggestions?
If you want to get to a 3D database -- that's where many are going these days --
read on. More than a year ago, I worked on a project involving the development
of software that converts grayscale images (TIF, GIF, etc.) into 3D polygonal
mesh surfaces. Using the software, we could add thickness and then convert the
data into an STL file. We had several SL and FDM parts made, and they turned
out beautifully.
Pixels automatically hold a value of 0 to 255, with 0 being black and 255 being
white. The software, written for SGI workstations, assigns a Z height to each
pixel value in the image. We wanted the darkest regions of the image to be a
maximum height of 0.3 inch, as I recall, and the lightest regions to be 0.10
inch. I don't remember the exact numbers.
The software was developed to solve a special problem, so it was never
commercialized. If you're interested in possibly gaining access to it, contact
Colorado State University's David Alciatore at
dga@mardigras.lance.colostate.edu. Tell him I sent you.
Terry Wohlers
Wohlers Associates, Inc.
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