3D scanning, digitalisation of the monument and 3D printing of the replica

For the North Bohemian Museum, we created a replica of the tombstone of the important native Kryštof of Karlovice and Červený hrádek, which has become a permanent part of the exhibition. We first scanned the tombstone in the church of St. Jilja in Jirkov, where it is located. 3D scanning was done with Artec 3D scanners (Eva and Spider). The data was then edited on the computer and a digitized image of the original was created. Due to the size and volume of material used to 3D print the replica, we chose the additive Voxeljet technology. The Voxeljet 3D printer is generally suitable for creating replicas of cultural monuments because it offers relatively low costs compared to traditional production methods. The advantage is the high level of detail in the relief and especially the resulting surface, which resembles worked stone (e.g., sandstone).

The resulting object weighs around 80 kg and measures 80 cm in length and 27 cm in width.

With Voxeljet technology, 3D printing takes place in layers by gradually joining fine bulk materials using a liquid binder. The building material, in this case, is fine-grained sand, which, in addition to creating replicas, is also used to make moulds in the foundry industry. The resulting model is finally impregnated.

See the unlimited possibilities of Voxeljet technology for printing large-scale artworks from sand:

Digital Grotesque . Printing Architecture from Digital Grotesque on Vimeo.