I keep saying this but I have learned so much from all you folks on this forum so this, in return, is my very small contribution.

Lithophanes are a fascinating art form which never cease to amaze. Their construction has been made incredibly easy, with the help of CNC machines, and for anyone wishing to try here is just one method of starting out. ( Additional info on their history can be found here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithophane ).

Initially the image used needs to have a good grayscale contrast ratio and this should then be converted (if not already) into a JPG or BMP with the highest resolution that is practical.
A program such as ‘Mach1Filter.exe’, which can be downloaded from this page http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index. ... 544.0.html will then enable conversion of the JPG or BMP image into a GCode height map / depth map. Setting the correct ‘stepover’ will depend on the final image size, resolution required and cutting tool diameter and no doubt some practice, but that’s half the fun of it. I use the Mach3 ‘Scale DRO’s’ To get the correct final image size to match the blank material used.

The material I use is 3mm thick opal ‘Plexiglass’ (mainly because it is easy for me to obtain) so the maximum depth of cut is set to 2.5mm with white cut deep and black shallow. If the 2.5mm max depth causes problems with yaw and multipass is preferred then Fozzy’s excellent Manglerizer can be downloaded from this page viewtopic.php?f=185&t=1294. By far the best material to use is ‘Corian’ (the bone color is nice), which is OK for US folks but not so commonly available (at a realistic price) in other parts of the world.

The cutting tool I use the most is a 2mm ballnose carbide type, setting the correct feeds and speeds can be tricky as some types of plastic melt onto the tool cutting edge whilst others do not. In general, the faster the feedrate, without risk of breaking the cutter, the better the end result.



The image for this skull and dragon was downloaded from Danny’s website at http://www.cnc4free.org/images/10Min/pages/019.htm. and the GCode created with the free version of CamBam (which can also be downloaded from his site). The total machining time here was about 45 minutes.



This white tiger is a high resolution Lithophane (extremely small stepover size) which is truly stunning but it took some 8 hours of machine time to complete. I had a lot of other work to do that day so I started this after breakfast and returned to it in the evening. (It would, of course, be wise to carry out a risk assessment prior to leaving any machine running unattended for long periods of time).

For further reading a good, detailed, description of Lithophanes and their construction methods can be found here http://www.denfordata.com/pdfs/lithophane_tutorial.pdf

Good fortune and if you decide to give it a try please post the results.

Tweakie.

 

I love this kind of artwork! Will surely give it a try in the future. Thanks for the info.

-Kwok

 

Hi Guys & Gals,

Revisiting an old topic...

I have recently had quite successful results by laser cutting Lithophanes into Corian and thought you may like to see a typical result.

(Corian does not quite have the same light transmission properties as opal Plexiglas so the final work need back-lighting to be viewed properly - looks like some more work is required to make some light boxes now ).

Tweakie.

 

Oh, wow, Tweakie, that is so cool. Unbelievable details. Love it!

 

Here is one I did about 5 years ago of my wife and I (or is it me) , out of corian

A note on corian, it makes a very fine dust with will ruin bearings. Don't ask me how I know this, so use a vac system. Second picture take using flash and first no flash. Funny to watch someone when you hand them a pain you did and they look and it and you can tell they are thinking what is the piece of junk, then watch them when you tell them to hold it up tot he light, they you hear, made me one, make me one.

 

Thanks Mark,

For some time I doubted that laser produced lithophanes could actually match up to spindle engraved versions with regard to resolution but since getting hold of some genuine Corian to try - I now think that it is possible to get extremely close (genuine Corian is not commonly available here in the UK).

Perhaps the big advantage is that the laser takes half an hour to produce a small, 0.1mm step-over, litho that may take half a day with spindle engraving.

This little fella is just 50mm square and I think, makes for a good example of the detail that can be reproduced within lithophane’s in general.

Tweakie. Attached files

 

If I ever get into laser, Tweakie, just to let you know, it will be your fault.

 

:ROFL:

Tweakie.

 

Your work in this subject is OUTSTANDING !!

One of the things I'm going to do when my big machine is complete are Lithophanes.

Keep up the good work, and Thank you for sharing.

Cheers.
GHB

 

A note on corian, it makes a very fine dust with will ruin bearings. Don't ask me how I know this, so use a vac system.