Autodesk’s free software Memento makes 3D models from your snaps, doing all the work for you.

Time for ,making a high definition (HD) 3D model from a lowly 2D photograph was the matter of a mad man’s dream times include changed, and the software which is  behemoth Autodesk has released the beta version of the  Memento is a free desktop key that smoothly converts your photos into high definition 3D models, quickly, ready for 3D printing. The idea has been around for a bit – Autodesk already released the iPad app 123D Catch.

The software can stitch up the hundreds of photos, taken from all angles of an object, and generate a 2-billion-polygon network.

It can also clean the web to produce a model that you can export for printing.

This isn’t just for 3D hobbyists while. If you know what you’re doing and you can also edit manually alter the mesh by slice, smoothing and filling holes.

Or Memento can do it all for you automatically.

It’s not just for 3D prints. It can be used to measure the growth of coral as well

Experts will know Autodesk when it declares the tech process will provide a ‘high technology hoard with ‘out-of-core’ visualization and an ‘algorithmic tool mass.

Put your feet up of and it will take not more than the 20 minutes for someone with no previous 3D knowledge to be confidently using Memento to create their own 3D printable models.

So go have a play – still Autodesk has plans to start charging before the end of this year. It’s only available for Windows and a Mac version is also upcoming soon.