Hi Michael,

thanks for the info, lots of stuff to digest and sorry for the delay.

Though I'm not sure yet, I think this 2.5d mechanism as you call it, could be the way to go for many if not all the details I would want to add to my work. I have both Rhino evaluation and ZSurf4 and tried a couple imports into Rhino. Following zsurf suggestions, I managed to obtain a decent looking shaded view. But the same file loaded in BobCad looks like the "meshing" is way to coarse and of course I have no idea how I could improve that in BobCad. I finally downloaded the no save version of MOI and imported the same file and I was surprised that it looked much better then in the other 2 programs. But I'm curious to know which programs renders the most faithful representation of the true relief surface because that's the one that will be carved by the CNC? The same would be true with 3D printing I assume.

As a suggestion, a MOI trial version something like the Rhino 25 save version could be ideal to explore the full potential of MOI without the pressure of a deadline.

In this post here http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=602.8 I found a paper about UDT (Universal Deformation Technology) as implemented in Rhino 4 and if I understand all this correctly, it would be more then enough for the kind of stuff I want to do. Is there by any chance something equivalent in MOI? Say for example I've created some kind of an embossed medallion on a flat surface in ZSurf and I'd like to kind of "apply" it on a cylindrical object and make it an integral part of this solid object.

edit: I found my answer, Zsurf can create the "bump" surface on a cylinder and other forms directly. Then I suppose MOI can deal with the rest of the modeling to create some solid.

I think what I'm asking is should I go with MOI or for Rhino especially if one thinks a bit long term. I wouldn't want finding out later that trying to save some money today I end up spending more tomorrow.

Many thanks,
Felix