# Easiest way to get from physical object to CAD/CAM file **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 30, 2012, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easiest-way-to-get-from-physical-object-to-cad-cam-file/617277 "2012-03-30T14:54:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easiest-way-to-get-from-physical-object-to-cad-cam-file/617277/1 "2012-03-30T14:54:00Z")
I made a small clay sculpture. I would like to get this design into a CAD file for upload to a 3D printing company such as [Shapeways.com](http://Shapeways.com), which supports the following file types: DAE, OBJ, STL, X3D, X3DB, X3DV, WRL. I tried using some CAD software to make it from scratch, but I lacked the skills. Ideally, it would be cool if I could take a series of photos of it and have some software analyze and stitch it together into a 3D model, sort of like Microsoft Photosynth does. That’s probably a lot to ask, though. ---
**Author:** ![Dave.B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9f8e36/32.png) [@Dave.B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave.B)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easiest-way-to-get-from-physical-object-to-cad-cam-file/617277/2 "2012-03-30T17:20:43Z")
Autodesk have this: [http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/photo\_scene\_editor/](http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/photo_scene_editor/) I have been meaning to try it out properly. My first attempt failed miserably, but I did it quickly and didn’t properly follow the instructions. Maybe worth a try. ETA: I believe this will output a standard AutoCAD DWG file. AutoCAD itself will export a STL file. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easiest-way-to-get-from-physical-object-to-cad-cam-file/617277/3 "2012-03-30T17:30:09Z")
> [@Dave.B](#): > > Autodesk have this: > [http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/photo\_scene\_editor/](http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/photo_scene_editor/) before a person tries this they should make sure they meet the system requirements. [http://www.123dapp.com/catch](http://www.123dapp.com/catch) ---
**Author:** ![Dave.B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9f8e36/32.png) [@Dave.B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave.B)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easiest-way-to-get-from-physical-object-to-cad-cam-file/617277/4 "2012-03-30T17:35:08Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > before a person tries this they should make sure they meet the system requirements. > > [http://www.123dapp.com/catch](http://www.123dapp.com/catch) 😕They don’t seem particularly demanding to me. The whole point of this is that the donkey-work is carried out on Autodesk’s own servers, not your PC. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easiest-way-to-get-from-physical-object-to-cad-cam-file/617277/5 "2012-03-30T17:36:28Z")
never mind ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easiest-way-to-get-from-physical-object-to-cad-cam-file/617277/6 "2012-03-30T17:37:47Z")
> [@Dave.B](#): > > Autodesk have this: > [http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/photo\_scene\_editor/](http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/photo_scene_editor/) > > I have been meaning to try it out properly. My first attempt failed miserably, but I did it quickly and didn’t properly follow the instructions. Maybe worth a try. > ETA: I believe this will output a standard AutoCAD DWG file. AutoCAD itself will export a STL file. Looks good, thanks! I’ll check it out. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easiest-way-to-get-from-physical-object-to-cad-cam-file/617277/7 "2012-03-31T01:44:12Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > before a person tries this they should make sure they meet the system requirements. > > [http://www.123dapp.com/catch](http://www.123dapp.com/catch) The specific model of CPU required seems really odd. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easiest-way-to-get-from-physical-object-to-cad-cam-file/617277/8 "2012-03-31T03:08:40Z")
Well, I tried it, and although the results aren’t perfect, it’s a good start! Thanks again **Dave.B**!