Just musing. I know that it's possible to have a computer drive a mill to sculpt in 3d. Suppose that in the far off future I create some models, poses, bumps, etc., and I decide that I want a durable "solid hardcopy" of a total Poser-generated figure. Any ideas where I should look for this service--presuming I don't want to buy the mill myself? How fine/small can this be? Can Poser export bump map results in any fashion that would be meaningful in driving a mill?

Attached Link: http://www.minitech.com/index.htm

Search for "Desktop Manufacturing" on the Internet. I like the stuff from http://www.minitech.com/index.htm Rhino can import the Poser and models and convert into the machining codes needed or even convert to STL code for 3D "printing" or rapid prototying. http://www.rhino3d.com/home.htm Just send the final STl model to these guys to have it made. http://www.protoshape.com/ I can't wait till they get to make this stuff out of rubber/latex instead of wax; and hopefully be able to add color for the proper texture. Sam

Also check out toybuilders.com. Those guys are on to something! Anthony

Try www.protoshape.com, this is the best I've seen

Going to build yourself a poser girlfriend full scale? Most of the programs I have seen are for the jewelry industry that will drive a numerically controlled milling machine that cuts wax. I work for a sign company and we do this at sizes of 6'x12' and up on a 3 axis router to do 3d. Disney has a 5 axis router here in town and can do a true 3D shape such as a full scale sculpture. Prices on these items are not cheap and the hardware is BIG BUCKS!

Actually, I was looking more towards producing small pieces of varying fineness.

Attached Link: http://www.artcam.com

Depending on what material you want to work in will dictate what system you use. I do jewelry work also(too many hobbies!) and the systems that carve wax for the trade do so at 1/1000 of an inch of accuracy. These can be lost wax cast and then used to create a master with a vulcanizing rubber setup to make more wax molds for multiple castings of an item. Try this link to see the software used they can put in touch with someone that can do it for you.

Am I correct in presuming that all of these mills, casters, layer-down-layer doodads, et al, are limited specifically to the planes of the mesh and cannot utilize data from bump maps or other non-mesh features? That'll seriously ramp up the detail requirements of the modeling I want to do (and render the one model I've finished already obsolete--ah the price of quality). In short, would a Poser figure like the Dork turn out to look like Kryten if "3d printed" at a height of about 25mm to 30mm? Happen to have a reference on the resolution limit of unaided human vision? 0.1mm? I think I need to get my head around how many facets will be necessary to avoid a "facety" look at whatever final scale I intend the objects to be.

From what I understand the mesh is the only 3D information the progrms use to decide the cutting path of the tool. There might be a program I havn't seen yet that will take bump maps etc into account, but most of these programs are written for cad design type programs that are only interested in dimensions and not textures or color.