I’ve tried several free programs to convert a height map into a 3D mesh, and I finally found one that sort of works: Extrudy
It’s a bit weird to use, since the author developed it for the specific purpose of creating pendants, so you’re limited to medallion-like objects with a front and back. The nice thing is that you can load a gray-scale image as a height map in “bas-relief” mode. Within a few hours, including learning curve, I was able to convert this:
![](https://truefork.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/116050698171_0.jpg)
into this:
![](https://truefork.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/116050698171_1.jpg)
And finally printed as this:
![](https://truefork.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/116563415746_0.jpg)
Anyone who has ever tried to create a complex 3D model from basic cubes and cylinders – often only to have an application crash and lose days of work – will be able to appreciate the potential of this tool…
The homepage has changed. Please use https://extrudy.lima-city.de/ instead.
Other useful links regarding eXtrudy:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:157322
http://www.youtube.com/eXtrudyDotNet
http://facebook.com/eXtrudy
Thanks, updated.