🪵 DepthForge

Turn a photo into a CNC-ready relief heightmap — 16-bit PNG + watertight STL for Vectric Aspire 12.5.

How it works. A depth model estimates the 3D form; the Sculpt (depth-led) default keeps that smooth form dominant (strong foreground/background separation) and injects the photo's own fine texture (fabric, hair, folds) only subtly — so the result reads as a 3D sculpt, not a flat luminance emboss. Switch presets or raise Detail strength for a more engraved look. Exports a 16-bit heightmap and a watertight STL for CNC carving.

Models (quality tiers). Default DA3-Large 1.1 (Apache-2.0) = best commercial-safe quality; DA3-Base / DA3-Small (Apache) are faster; DA3 Nested-Giant and Depth-Anything-V2 Large are CC-BY-NC-4.0 — personal / non-commercial only. V2-Small (Apache) is the CPU-friendly guaranteed fallback. The active backend and its license are shown in Status.
Depth model
Preset
0 25
0 25
0 25
0 25
1 4
512 4096
0 4
0 0.5
0 1.5
1 20
0 1
0.3 2
0 0.5
0 5
20 400
1 50
0 30
1 8

Vectric Aspire 12.5 workflow

Option A — heightmap (16-bit PNG):

  1. Model → Import Bitmap / Import Component From File and select the PNG.
  2. Set the model Z height to your intended relief depth (e.g. 8 mm) and the base/border as needed. White = high, black = low.
  3. Position/scale on the job; combine with Merge High if layering.

Option B — 3D model (STL):

  1. Model → Import a Component / 3D Model and select the STL.
  2. Confirm units (mm) and orientation; the STL is a closed solid with a flat base.
  3. Set material Z, then create 3D Roughing (bull-nose/ballnose) and 3D Finishing (ballnose, small stepover) toolpaths.

Cut base-up with a flat bottom; the relief peaks at base_mm + relief_mm.
Examples