photocarver CNC milled photos that you can touch

A2 Frame line grid 

‘photocarver‘ images can be seen and felt. they are not simply a print out, but rather, they are milled into wood surfaces. what looks from a distance like a black and white picture, turns out to be a high relief  up close. the custom made visuals are created according to your individual style and taste. you can choose from different carving techniquessuch as line grid or grid point. just simply upload pictures from your camera or from the internet and you can view how your photocarver image will look like.

line grid carving

the story behind photocarver: in the summer of 2011, michael ahlers and roland heuger teamed up. as young architects and designers, their interest was in the use of new media and digital fabrication, and how it could offer customized products. at the same time, they wanted to bridge the gap between digital design and the physical, haptic and handcrafted products.

in a long and constant cooperation with friedrich ahlers, they developed a way to produce unique and personalized surfaces with wood and new carpentry applications– a long process that required a cooperation between old and new generations, manual craft and digital design, years of experience of a father and the innovative approaches of his sons.

in early 2012 the young and passionate entrepreneur alessandro petrucciani joined the team to help bringing the idea to the next level.

production of an image using photocarver

video courtesy of photocarver

A1 frame CNC picture

point grid milling

close up of point grid

milled wall

close up line grid

detail

production

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.