Pictures done with lots of little holes

[tonyb]

Hi
Have any of you guys worked out how to do thoses pictures that are done with hundreds of small holes that are drilled through a piece of light coloured material to expose a darker substrate below. I've been playing around with Corel trying to get a black and white image into a realy low resolution bitmap but I'm not having much luck. It can't be that hard
Tony

[artisan]

Anthony, can you provide a website, a pic or a better description of what you're trying to achieve....D

[tonyb]

Hi Darrell
I have only ever seen three pictures done like this.(These are big pictures on the roadway).They are done two ways. The first is just a sheet of aluminium with holes. The second is a layer of Aluminium then a space,(3mm) then a layer of black colored board. small holes(3-4mm) are drilled in areas of the picture were there would be shadow. the density of the holes corisponds to the darkness of the shadow. They look great. I would think it is the same as the pixels on a black and white TV, with lower resolution.
I will try and get a photo on the weekend. It is suprising that somthing that sounds so simple can have such depth
Tony

[rookie432]

Tony,

Try looking up Rayzist.com They are a photo mask supplier for making etched glass stencils. They have a way of converting normal photo's into a low resolution pixelated photo they convert to a sandblast stencil. Sounds like this is what you are trying to achieve. I'm not sure how you would convert those pixels into points for milling though. I think I would load the pixelated pic and then sketch in the points over the pixels.

Sounds cool. Good Luck
Bill

[info@amada.com]

I haven't seen the software, but about 10 years ago I was at a trade show for metalworking equipment.(IMTS in Chicago) A company called US AMADA, ( a Japanese manufacturer of CNC turret punch presses) was taking photos of people, running it through a software package and then making large digitized pictures of them on the turret press by punching lots of holes in thin steel plate. The result was very impressive. Its been a long time, but someone there might remember or be able to guide you to the software.

info@amada.com (mailto:info@amada.com) or 1-800-626-6612

[tonyb]

Thanks Bill and Trent.
Trent, that's it exactly.
I think if I can get an image to a low res bitmap I can do it on a ShopBot.
Tony

[artisan]

Isabel is at the door howling.... I have a general idea of what you're after....though I would still prefer to see a picture. There are so many ways to approach this problem graphically. First of all....to change the resolution, use the "RESAMPLE" command under the "bitmap" flyout on the toolbar. You can set the pic to any resolution there. Also, first make sure you've converted your photo to a grayscale image if it's in color...before you do ANYTHING. Afterwards, you can use one of the artistic filters such as "Pen & Ink" with the box "stipple" checked to give you an approximation of what you're after. You can also use "pointillism" to produce a similar effect.

The simplest method however is to select "MODE" under the "Bitmap" flyout again, and select "B&W (1 bit)...Then select "FLOYD-STEINBERG" in the bar beside "CONVERSION". Slide the slide-bar to the midpoint next to "options". VOILA! You've got your image. Try out the "Stucki" conversion as well. You should be able to generate a DXF file one layer deep. Hope this helps....D

[ssmith@skeeball.com]

Darrell, it looks like you are describing steeps in a particular application program.

What one?

It sounds like a cool idea.

[artisan]

Sorry Scott...I guess I wasn't clear. At the beginning of this thread, TonyB asked for a way to achieve a certain look in CorelDraw..... a pointillistic approach for machining a photo. I only listed a very easy method, though there are plenty of other filters and methods and again....I have never seen a photo of what he's after....so, I'm just guessing. I'm going to try the effect tonite... in my spare time. I'll let you know if it machines as cool as it looks....D

[srwtlc]

What if instead of drilling holes, a 60 or 90 degree v-bit were used at varying depths? If you were using a wood such as maple, you could allow for a light sanding after sealing and lightly misting several times with a black spray paint. I've used this method with v-carved lettering(sometimes with high tack paper mask) with good results. You have to be very careful to not get the paint to wet otherwise it will bleed in the grain. Or you could veener a piece of walnut with some maple veener.

Just a thought ;-)

Scott

[tonyb]

Sorry Darrell, I havent had time to reply to your advice till now.Thanks for taking a look at my problem. I will go into town tomorrow and take some photos. I hope they will do the pictures justice. Meanwhile I'll try my luck with Corel.

[tonyb]

I've got them but how do I get them on here

[Matt Barinholtz, Covenant House Washington D.C.]

Are you talking about somthing like this:

http://store1.yimg.com/I/exitartcatalog_1747_1168047

It is a close-up of a Phillip Stark flyswatter, called "Mr. Skud." - you can find them in most fancypants decor stores and museum shops. I've been interested in this item for quite a while, and have made a file using photoshop, using a halftone filter, jacking the contrast up real high, creating "work paths" by selecting all of the black areas, then bringing them into illustrator, smoothing the jagged edges, and exporting that into ArtCAM. Haven't cut the file yet, but am plannning on using a 60 degree v bit in .125" material, with a maximum depth of cut of .125 - the holes will have beveled edges, but couldn't imagine having the SB cut little holes of varying diameters - 1/16 - 1/8" without adjusting the MS and ramping down so slow - I wanted to do large (1' square) pieces that could be used as screens for lights.

TonyB - sounds like a great idea - what are you trying to achieve? I look forward to the photos that you are trying to post.

Matt Barinholtz
Covenant House Washington

[Matt Barinholtz, Covenant House Washington, D.C.]

Is this similar to the effect you are looking for?


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Matt Barinholtz
Covenant House Washington

[tonyb]

Hi Matt
Thats somthing like what I'm talking about but the pictures I got here are done with holes. I noticed yesterday that there are two sizes of holes. If I can work out how to post these damn pitcures, they are self explanatory.
tony

[Matt Barinholtz, Covenant House Washington D.C.]

Tony -


The white dots in the black field above are holes cut in the surface of masonite, with light shining in from behind. The actual size is 20 " wide.

Follow this link - there are several discussions on the forum re: posting images, but the Format a Message link section on the toolbat to the left -

http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/board-formatting.html#images

has everything you need -

just follow it's formatting -

hit preview, then go to post it -
and the forum application will request the images you want to upload.

Good luck,

Matt

[tonyb]

OK
I worked how to upload them but now I'm limited to a 25K upload. by the time I crop and resample theres no detail left in the photos . my original is 256K. perhaps I will have to send the photo's by E-Mail unless anyone knows how to compress these photos

[artisan]

Email is fine

[artisan]

Hi Tony....interesting pics and nice looking... but they are screen printed...not machined I think. You could re-create them by starting with a screen printed substrate like aluminum or Dibond. Then you could drill a hole or mesh pattern with the Bot. Or.... you could simply screen print your image onto a mesh.... as I suspect was done here....D

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[artisan]

Here is a closer look where you can see the shadows and highlights don't correspond with the hole patterns at all....D

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[artisan]

Here's a shot of my mug....done in the Floyd-Steinberg conversion mentioned above. I'm going to try and machine this over the next week....D

[artisan]

Geeez.... it timed me out. Anyway...you get the idea....D

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[tonyb]

Thanks Darrell
I would have sworn that the pitcures were done on a white background only, but in light of what you mentioned I will have to go and have a rethink. If they are screen printed it takes all the magic away.
I managed to get my image to a 1-bit black and white as you described.I'm having a little trouble importing it into Vector because it comes in as a object and I can't explode it. I might try importing it to Turbo-Cad and see if i can explode it there.
I sent you a E-Mail of a close up of the pitcures.

Matt If you want to see the close up of pictures send me an E-Mail so I have your address. tbrazz@bigpond.com (mailto:tbrazz@bigpond.com)

[tonyb]

Just had a look at some of the other photos, zooming right in, and I'm sure it's just a white board. My wife agrees. Now I am going into town after work and have another look. I'll be disappointed if they are printed though.