Getting files into cut 3 d

[M Rabin]

I am new to CNC and I really bought the machine to cut 3d bas relief pictures of my friends pets in wood- great gift idea. It came with VCarve Pro and Cut 3d and I added PhotoVcarve. (I bought the small Shark) I cant figure out how to get a file into Cut 3d-- all the accepted files need $1000 cam programs. Is there a cheap program that will convert my 2D picture into 3D in a format Cut 3d accepts? Is there a better way to do what I want? I cant believe no one out there hasn't cut a pet photo 3D into wood. I really don't want to etch it. I have tried gray scaling in PhotoVcarve and it almost does it-- but not well enough with a complex photo like a dogs head. Please, if anyone has any ideas-- I am desperate, I told my wife this could do it and so she let me buy it.

[Mike-S]

Is there a cheap program that will convert my 2D picture into 3D

I think we all would like to find such a program. A picture has no 3D data--none. We interpret the picture in our minds and "see" the depth due to shapes and shading and our past experience observing a similar object.
A greyscale made from a photo just takes the various shades and converts to a height map based on lights and darks, but alas, no real 3D. What you need is that 3rd dimension data included in the file to give true Z height to the object.
You might look into AUTODESK'S 123D Catch. A little tedious, but free.

[ChrisInEstes]

PhotoVCarve will do some amazing things with a 2D image if you play with the settings. There are some great threads here in the forums.
I had a similar question, and got some great help in the thread linked below. There's a PDF from Vectric, and 2 links.

http://www.vectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=18336

Chris