I have tried many different ways to do this but have not found a way that consistently works. What is the best way to take a black and white image (JPG or PNG) and extrude it in to a solid without having to trace it?

I am not looking to convert a picture to the 3D image just need to take a simple black and white image and extrude the black parts in to a solid.

Thanks,

Randy

Tim,

I appreciate the quick response! I was hoping there was a way to do this from with in ViaCAD or perhaps a online or shareware app that would convert it to a solid format. The Scan2CAD products start at $699 a bit steep for what i am trying to do. There are several free apps that convert an image to an STL but none that consistently create a STL that the mesh tools can turn in to a solid. The other ones that I have found don't export to a format that ViaCAD supports.

Does anyone know of a tool that can do this?

Thanks!

Randy

Posh,

Thanks but that created hundreds of little unconnected lines around the edges or in the middle depending on the settings. I am not really sure how to make that work without a lot of work.

Sorry I must not be explaining what I am looking for correctly. I have a logo for work it has white pixels and black pixels. I am hoping someone knows of a program or website that will create a 3D solid where the only the black pixels are, let's say 1 mm high and everything else is empty. or perhaps raise the black pixels at least 1 mm leaving the white pixels flat.

Does anyone know of such as program or website?

Thanks,

Randy

If you need to use a raster image in a vector program, unless the raster in very clear and simple, it is almost always quicker an easier to hand trace the raster.

the ZIP archive under the common download link produces an adware warning with Bitdefender malware scanner (and others)...


.. an alternative could be SketchUp Make (free for non-commercial use) in connection with ThomThoms 'Bitmap to Mesh' plugin:

Edited by user Monday, April 13, 2015 7:59:49 AM(UTC)  | Reason: formatting