From flat image to 3D relief carving

Neural Relief converts photos, logos, or AI-generated art into grayscale height fields built for deep engraving: a free deterministic engine for clean geometric relief, plus an AI depth engine for organic sculpted looks. Preview the carve in 3D before you burn, then export a 16-bit grayscale PNG for LightBurn or CAM.

Deterministic engine resolves the full 65,536 levels — no banding in deep relief

Live 3D preview before you commit to a burn

Free deterministic engine plus AI depth generation

Open Neural Relief Read Depth Map Mastery →

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does 16-bit matter for relief?

An 8-bit depth map only has 256 height steps, which shows as visible terracing in deep carves. 16-bit gives 65,536 steps, so gradients stay smooth across the full carve depth.

Which engine actually resolves all 65,536 levels?

The deterministic engine. It accumulates height in floating point and quantises once into a real 16-bit PNG, so a deep carve gets the full level budget. The AI depth route is different and we would rather say so: the depth models we call return an 8-bit payload, which we normalise across the full 16-bit range. The container is 16-bit either way, but the deterministic path is the one carrying 16-bit worth of distinct heights. If you are chasing the smoothest possible deep carve, start there — it is also the free one.

How is this different from a free browser-based depth map generator?

On the AI depth step, honestly, less than you might think — several free tools run the same class of monocular depth model in your browser, and a couple of them do it without an account. What Reticle Red adds is everything either side of that step: a deterministic 65,536-level engine when you want geometry rather than a guess, a 3D preview before you commit, depth calibration and tuning panels, a settings card, a pHYs chunk so the PNG imports at real millimetre size instead of being guessed at 96 DPI, and the same account carrying the job into Coin Designer, Crystal Fabricator, and LightBurn or EZCAD export. We have not run a controlled output comparison against any specific competing tool, so this is a description of scope, not a quality claim.

What machines can use the output?

Any workflow that accepts grayscale depth maps: CO2 and fiber lasers running multi-pass deep engrave modes, and CNC routers via CAM software that converts height fields to toolpaths.

Production checks before export

Use the workflow on a representative sample before committing customer material. Confirm the finished dimensions, smallest line weight, layer assignments, focus, and machine parameters in the software that will run the job. A short test on matching scrap catches scale, contrast, kerf, and material-finish differences while they are still inexpensive to correct.

Related Guides

8-Bit vs 16-Bit Depth Maps — Why Banding Happens →Faithful Photo Depth vs Sculpted Relief →Crystal Fabricator →Neural Relief →3D relief guide →Crystal tutorial →

What Operators Say

“I love this software!”
Patrick Hussey — Laser engraver · went from never touching the software to firing real burns in his first week
“This is the easiest I have seen.”
Chris Clark — Laser engraver · Vanguard pack customer · builds custom 1911 grips
“Reticle Red is becoming one of my favorite software to use. It has a lot of tools that many others do not, and approaches things differently to create more consistent results. A++”
Daniel Webster — Laser engraver · long-time power user
“Reticle Red definitely takes the guess work out of your design work with tutorials to walk through the process. I highly recommend it.”
Justin Brown — Laser engraver

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