Using raster image to create a relief.

[mailswamp]

I want to create a 3D printable object, similar to this soap box.

I want to create this etching/linoleum carving effect on the top surface of an otherwise geometrically perfect mold part with tapered walls.

I take some hard-edged (solid) black and white (not grayscale) design and recess black areas deeper in to the design of the mold, compared to white areas.

Then I want this basrelief to be applied to the geometrically precise engineering part - a rectangular mold with rounded corners, that will be designed to fit our equipement.

Would it be possible for me to use Inventor for this task?

What is the command to do this? I could not google anything because I could not come up with terminology to describe it. Give me some search terms.

What is the term for a graphic style where only solid black or white colors are used and all grey tones are converted to either white or to black?

The question that I am trying to answer is how I can convert an artistic design in Inventor into a basrelief , hopefully without having to edit it in Photoshop, Illustrator or Corel Draw, then apply it to a regular engineering part.

Thank you.

[Cadmanto]

If you have the image, you can insert that into an Inventor sketch then draw over it.  Looks like you will need to create a lot of splines.  If you are not used to using the spline tool, they can be tricky.  Just make sure all of your loops are closed or you wont be able to extrude them.

Windows 10 x64 -16GB Ram
Intel i7-6700 @ 3.41ghz
nVidia GTS 250 - 1 GB
Inventor Pro 2018

[Cris-Ideas]

Hi this generally works:

1) Trace your image in Gimp or Adobe Illustrator and get it to vector graphics.

2) Than open in auto cad and try to extrude to solid

3) Export solid to some 3D data  exchange format like igs or step

4) open in inventor and make proper inventor solid out of it

5) use this solid to model  in inventor (derive in to your part, move and rotate body, scale than substract)

If you try to import vector graphics in to inventor if this is made of splines and was exported this may end up in very painful and hard process to make it work.

Importing solids is much quicker. and Autocad is generally much better in working witch unconstrained vectors. It is also more easy to work with them in autocad.

Cris.

[swalton]

I am not aware of an "easy" workflow with Autodesk products. 

AutoCAD Raster Design?  That might be a way to get a dwg from the bitmap.  Once you have the dwg, you should be able to import it into Inventor.  

Sketchup seems to have a nice workflow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FnmdsLWWF8

I'm not sure how to get from Sketchup to Inventor.

[Cris-Ideas]

As fas as my experience is

from sketchup to inventor you can only get through 3DSmax or maybe also rhino.. I had not found any other way, and this one is also not so easy.

As for AutodacRasterDesign I tried this and did not finish the job. It was to difficult (for me at least).

Gimp and Adobe illustrator are very good and easy in tracing. Also trace is usually continuous and easy exported to vector.

Cris.

[kelly.young · Accepted solution]

Hello @mailswamp the ways suggested come to mind first, here are a few more obscure ways that might be helpful.

There was a product we recently discontinued called ArtCam that would have been useful for this fyi... 

There is a Fusion360 Add-In that works similarly called Image 2 Surface.

Fusion360 Image 2 Surface 

You can use AutoCAD Raster to import a pdf directly as well. The command is PDFIMPORT.

Raster Image to DWG

Convert image for AutoCAD 2017

Please select the Accept as Solution button if a post solves your issue or answers your question.

[mailswamp]

Thank you for your help.

Kelly Young, How hard would it be to take an image from 360 and place it into Inventor?

I haven't used 360 much and I have a student version of Inventor.

I don't like to use AutoCAD that much.

The relief should appear in the depth of a rather high-tech 3D printer interlocking mold.

I would like the walls of this relief to be tapered or rounded, at least, to prevent chunks of material from ripping our and ruining the product.

[kelly.young]

@mailswamp with the AnyCAD ability you can easily take a Fusion360 file and bring it into Inventor. 

Help: To Import Fusion 360 Files as an AnyCAD Reference Model

Forum: Anycad Inventor to Fusion / Fusion to Inventor

Please select the Accept as Solution button if a post solves your issue or answers your question.