PixelCNC: The Handy CAM Solution for Images!

( Follow  me on Twitter @BITPHORIA and Blogger deftware.blogspot.com )

What is PixelCNC ?

PixelCNC is a one-of-a-kind utility for fast and easy generation of 3-axis CNC milling toolpaths directly from 2D images. No more messing around with 3D models or elaborate and tedious freeware toolchains. Users simply load an image, define one or more cutting tools, and choose from a growing library of both conventional and entirely novel and unique operations to generate toolpaths unlike anything anybody has ever seen before. Toolpaths are generated within seconds and can then be directly exported as Mach3 compatible G-code. By utilizing novel algorithms and mathematical strategies for transforming images, tool definitions, and specified operation parameters into 3-axis CNC toolpaths, PixelCNC is faster than almost any other image-based CAM software out there.

A powerful built-in simulation system provides users with an accurate preview of exactly what their generated toolpaths will result in once run on their CNC - before the chips fly - thus eliminating any scrapping of material due to simple errors and mistakes made when specifying toolpath generation parameters, as is the case with other software. No more 'cutting blind' like many other programs expect users to accept as being a fact of life. See what your operations are going to do long before you ever cycle start.

PixelCNC is fast, intuitive, and features a concise user interface that's designed to minimize complexity and maximize productivity. It's specifically designed to be the perfect CAM utility for creative and artistic hobby Do-It-Yourself'ers who use a desktop CNC mill or router to fabricate their own creative works of art for fun and profit.

Is that it?

Awesome possibilities can be opened up using PixelCNC in combination with one's imagination. PixelCNC features unique one-of-a-kind operations that lend themselves to giving a project that extra zing. Not only is PixelCNC a simple and powerful program for generating CNC toolpaths but it is also one that offers  the capability of generating novel and unique toolpath types that simply cannot be found anywhere else. The purpose of these unique CNC operations is to lend an original and interesting stylization to a workpiece. Instead of toolpaths serving merely as a means-to-an-end and only removing material from where it shouldn't be, PixelCNC's philosophy is to exploit the very nature of CNC toolpaths so as to provide interesting textures and patterns to works which would otherwise be practically impossible using existing conventional CAM software.

Why PixelCNC?

As a CNC hobbyist that runs an online crafting shop with my wife by day, and writes code by night, I have grown weary of the usual tools and workflows for creating interesting works on my CNC machine. Existing CAM solutions are either too slow, boring, complicated/tedious - or some combination thereof. I needed a tool that makes creating toolpaths and generating G-code as quick and painless as possible - without all the fuss of professionally-geared CAM packages, or the shoddy performance and limited capabilities of existing indie software, free or otherwise. PixelCNC not only makes creating toolpaths easy, it makes it fun!

For what PixelCNC can do I haven't found a price it doesn't beat. There already exists CAM solutions which have comparable features and capabilities, and then some. Most of these programs have too many options and features, incurring a larger learning curve than I'm comfortable spending time with. Most of these features and capabilities just get in the way of creating what I want to create. PixelCNC is offered to users for a one-time payment roughly equal to the cost of a month's subscription to one of these popular professional CAM programs.

But I already have a usable workflow!

I had a software toolchain and workflow that I was happy with, considering the alternatives available. PixelCNC has that old workflow beat by a long shot when it comes to getting an image design into a piece of material.  I had a workflow that went: craft design in GIMP/Photoshop, mesh into a heightmap with Blender, CAM the mesh to generate a G-code. This usually meant a 30 minute process minimum, not counting creating the image design itself. In many cases I could spend an hour or two tweaking parameters at any point in the workflow, usually GIMP or Blender and then I'd have to reiterate through the rest of the workflow to get to usable G-code.  Talk about a pain in the neck. Sure, my workflow worked decently, but nowadays working with PixelCNC I can get from an image to G-code in a minute flat, if need be, and change any and all parameters with minimal effort and tedium.

My old workflow was also limited to just relief/emboss works. To do anything else (V-carving, profiling, etc) I had to resort to low-quality free software that was slow, provided limited options for toolpath generation, and there was no way to see what the final result would be like unless I went ahead and risked scrapping material by cutting blind, because there was no simulation system built into the basic bare-minimum software available. Just the savings in scrapped material is worth multiple copies of PixelCNC alone.

Maybe you've already found something that does what you need and were able to pay for it in full to own it outright. CAM software is designed almost exclusively to produce toolpaths whose merit is their function, not their form. PixelCNC's novel one-of-a-kind stylized toolpath operations, such as the chevron and labyrinth, are that which could be artistically integrated and incorporated into the design and aesthetic of your own creative works. With existing conventional CAM software the toolpath serves purely as a mere means-to-an-end; the toolpath is strictly meant to remove the material that's not supposed to be there. PixelCNC's unique stylized toolpaths are alone worth its humble price, and more operations are always being invented and implemented. Existing PixelCNC customers get these new toolpaths and all other features/enhancements at no extra cost, while new customers will be paying for the increased functionality and its value as reflected in PixelCNC's increased price.

Free Trial

A free trial version of PixelCNC which imposes an input image pixel-area of 65k pixels (i.e. 256x256, 512x128, etc) and does not allow loading/saving of project files is available for download. The free trial is offered with full features and capability of the paid version.  Users can download it and test out PixelCNC's functionality and toolpath generation for themselves. The image-size limitations of the free trial entail an implicit constraint on project size. Technically it allows any project size but quality suffers when stretching small images over larger areas. ~5"x5" is virtually the largest project size one can get away with, depending on the image itself and what shapes/forms it is meant to convey. At that point the free trial is great for smaller engravings and desktop pieces.

PixelCNC Milling Operations:

Using the image shown above being edited in GIMP as input the following images illustrate the sort of toolpaths and simulated cuts users can expect from PixelCNC (cut step-overs exaggerated for clarity):

• Parallel: A tried-and-true operation, parallel contouring allows a depthmap image to easily be machined out of material in successive linear cuts. PixelCNC allows for parallel toolpaths to be at any orientation, with either conventional, climb, or mixed cutting. 

• Chevron: Similar to the parallel operation the chevron operation allows for an interesting zig-zag pattern. Using the same parameters as the parallel path, with the addition of chevron width and height, you can achieve a wide range of chevron pattern types. Leave your step spacing at a larger value and let those toolpaths show through to achieve an interesting chevron pattern overlay on your final workpiece!

• Spiral: This is another contouring-style operation akin to the parallel and chevron except that the resulting toolpath, you guessed it, spirals outward. The origin of the spiral is fixed at the center of the workpiece, but the conventional/climb milling parameter applies just the same as with the parallel/chevron operations.

• Labyrinth: The last of the four contouring operations, the labyrinth operation generates a maze-like toolpath. Parameters to control randomness, axial symmetry, and rotational symmetry allow the user to produce a variety of interesting and novel toolpaths that give a fractal-esque appearance to their works.

• Stipple: Not all artistic endeavors with the CNC should be limited to cutting out 3D art. The stipple operation generates an operation that can be used with ball-nose or v-bit cutters to depict a grayscale image, either by cutting holes meant to be dark on a white background, or vice-versa. Parameters allow adjustment of how the brightness of the image at each stipple affects its sizing and displacement through a simple particle advection simulation.

• Medial-Axis Carve: Also known as 'v-carving' or 'b-carving' (depending on the cutter used) this operation allows images of black/white designs and patterns to be used in the generation of a toolpath that follows the medial axis of detected shapes and forms in the image, varying the depth of cut along the way in order to cut out the exact shapes themselves. This machining operation is great for creating varied 3D and depth from simpler image input which lacks interesting depth features.

• Horizontal: Just as with conventional machining sometimes you just need to quickly remove a lot of material. The horizontal milling operation serves well as a roughing pass for jobs with significant depth and a resulting abundance of material to move. The horizontal milling operation is also great for achieving an interesting terraced effect from depthmap input images.

• Outline: Any gray level in the input image can be chosen to delineate the boundary separating dark/light areas. This outline boundary can also be offset inward/outward to produce the final resulting toolpath, for which a final desired depth the tool should cut to along the outline toolpath.

( More CNC operations are planned for implementation! See 'Early Access' below. )

Early Access

PixelCNC in its current state is a highly useful piece of software that I am excited to release into the wild for those who could stand to benefit from utilizing it in their workflow. Thousands of hours of unpaid work have gone into developing PixelCNC to make it as powerful and intuitive as possible. That being said, PixelCNC also remains under active development. There's a sizable list of items on the development 'todo' list - things to add and change and improve upon, and new features that will make PixelCNC more powerful, versatile, and easier to use. You can follow PixelCNC development via Twitter: @BITPHORIA

While PixelCNC is still under development existing customers will receive updates which include bugfixes, interface improvements, and optimizations that minimize memory usage and maximize computation speed. Customers will also be granted access to the newest features and capabilities as they are implemented: new operation types and toolpaths, simulation system improvements, and user interface adjustments and changes that further simplify and smooth out usage and workflow. 

As new operations are implemented and released the overall utility of PixelCNC as a whole increases accordingly. Proportional price increases will reflect this increase in the value of PixelCNC as a tool. Buy your copy now while PixelCNC still has it's early-access price tag!