Faceslice

About The Project

From a frontal photograph to cutting patterns for a layered portrait — a topographic relief made from sheet metal, bonded by hand, layer by layer.

Faceslice turns a frontal photograph into cutting patterns for a layered relief in sheet metal or cardstock. Enter an interpupillary distance (IPD) in millimeters to set the scale. The result is a relief of the visible side of the head, not a scan of the whole head.

Faceslice combines three computer vision models to estimate the relief: segmentation traces the silhouette; monocular depth estimates broad volume; and facial landmarks add detail around the nose, eyes, and lips. The geometry is an estimate from a single image.

The relief is sliced into parallel planes at adjustable angles. Frontal slices nest inside one another, with engraved alignment guides. The tool can remove concealed interior material and export DXF cutting sheets. Check dimensions and cutting settings with the workshop before fabrication.

Gallery

Features

• 📸 Single-Photo Relief: Turns one frontal photograph into a layered relief, scaled using a pupil-distance measurement you provide.
• 🧠 3-Model AI Fusion Engine: Combines MediaPipe multiclass segmentation, ONNX monocular depth estimation (Depth Anything V2), and MediaPipe face landmarkers for balanced skull volume and facial sharpness.
• 🗺️ Topographic Contour Slicing: Slices solids into parallel planes with free angle control (frontal for concentric nested isohypses, horizontal for side-profile laminations).
• 🎯 Self-Aligning Assembly Guides: When sliced frontally, each metal layer is nested inside the one below, and the bounding line of the next plate is engraved directly on its surface for easy alignment without jigs.
• ♻️ Interior Hollowing & Material Economy: Automatically removes concealed internal geometry, reducing material consumption and weight by up to 80% (e.g. 10 kg solid steel down to 1.9 kg hollow rings) while keeping sturdy bonding margins.
• ⚙️ Parametric Fabrication Controls: Real-time interactive adjustment of sheet thickness (0.5–10 mm), relief compression, kerf compensation, facial relief exaggeration, and slice angles.
• ⚖️ Material & Weight Estimates: Shows plate count, contours, sheet area, stack height, and estimated weight for steel, brass, and aluminum.
• 📐 DXF Export: Exports vector cutting sheets sized for selected stock. Verify them with your fabricator before cutting.

Architecture & Tech Stack