I understand the Mach3 SW which sells for a modest $175 operates in
some stone milling machines and that it is compatible with some (not
all) 3D scanners.
Could anyone here please share their experiences with 3D scanning
and Mach3 SW? (wiki/3D_scanner)
If you have artists who like to work with clay and wood and can do
great work but are perhaps reluctant to do CAD (maybe even
technophobic) then the 3D Scan -> Mach3 machine is a solution.
I waited to see if anyone could advise on this before answering.
Perhaps Giacomo has an answer since I understood from one of the
Torart videos that they are replicating The Pieta for Vatican. And I
think I said that Emperor Quianlong probably would have used 3D
scanning -> CAM to replicate his Jade Bowl if he had the technology
at the time.
Here is the problem I have.
(1) As I understood it (correct me if I am wrong), the artist must
work through many iterations in front of a computer screen before the
CAD design is completed. Then the machine can carve the stone piece
automatically. Hand crafting is not needed unless one needs to have
some metal work added or gems implanted etc. But let us say we are
talking about a fish or cross amulet or a bowl/goblet or a mask as
was recently described for the famous Amber Room… The CAM process
does it all after the CAD is completed.
(2) I am not the artist in this enterprise. My artists are located
many miles apart and they like to work in wood. They go from image in
mind to carving and do not make elaborate drawings even on paper so
making drawings on a computer is a problem. The 3D scanner would
solve this problem.
I have seen You Tubes of robotic stone carvings, eg bust of
Beethoven. They use a 3D scanner first do they not?