Originally Posted by
southpawboston
I'm not certain of this, but I think I read somewhere that the file format that defines the 3D printed object is the same one used for CNC milling, even though the processes themselves are sort of inversions of one another. I'd contact someone who does CNC milling and ask, since that would seem to be the best way to get something like this made from aluminum.
Kind of. A vector based digital file will get you closer to what you want, for basic 2D with uniform depth cutting. A stl. file will get you closer but will still require a dedicated cutter path file to be created, and you can create an object for a 3D model that may not be machinable.