Convert Terrain to SSLE Mesh

A specific geographic area, currently available only as satellite imagery, has to become a clean, watertight 3D representation that a sub-surface laser crystal engraving (SSLE) machine can read without extra prep.

Scope of work
First, extract the terrain from the imagery, generate a reliable elevation model, then sculpt and retopologise until the mesh is free of holes, non-manifold edges, or self-intersections. I’m aiming for a medium-resolution balance—enough detail to keep the character of ridges and valleys, but lean enough to stay within the polygon limits typically recommended for crystal engraving hardware.

Toolset
Feel free to use any pipeline you’re comfortable with—QGIS, ArcGIS, Blender, Rhino, Meshlab, or custom scripts—so long as the final file integrity is solid. No software preference from my side; I care about the result, not the brand name on the toolbar.

Deliverables
• One STL and one OBJ of the cleaned, optimised terrain
• Mesh oriented at the correct scale and centred at world origin
• Verification screenshots showing manifold check and polygon count

Acceptance criteria
The file must import into common SSLE pre-processors with no repair flags, render without artefacts, and preserve recognisable topographic features while remaining under the agreed poly count.

Send a brief note on your proposed workflow and any sample terrain engravings you’ve handled before, and we can get started right away.