Tag Archives: 3D scanning

Scanning & Replicating Museum Collections

3D scanning of museum collections is an awesome use of 3D technologies that provides a way to share rare items with the world. Many museums and libraries have been sharing 3D scans of their collections, leading to an amazing selection of historical artifacts that can be viewed in a web browser, virtual reality headsets, and often even downloaded and 3D printed. Many can be found in Sketchfab’s collection of Cultural Heritage and History items and Scan the World’s collections in Myminifactory.

All three peacocks (original in the center)

This summer, we did a little experiment with 3D scanning an item from the collection of the Lawrence University Wriston Art Center Galleries.

The original object: A 5.75 inch tall bronze inkwell from India.

The original, entitled Large inkwell, peacock design

First, we scanned the inkwell in the program MF Studio on our Matter & Form 3D scanner. It took 3 scans merged together to get a mostly complete image. We did not attempt to capture the hinged cover on the peacock’s back (where the ink would be stored and the pen would be dipped.)

Third scan of the peacock, lying on its side.

After cleaning up and merging the scans, we exported the file as an stl and prepared it for 3D printing in Cura.

Peacock file in the Cura slicing program.

We printed replicas in two very different Proto-pasta PLA blend filaments, both using an Ultimaker 2+ 3D printer. First in Cupid’s Crush Metallic Pink HTPLA.

Cupid’s Crush Metallic Pink

Then we printed another using the Magnetic Iron Composite PLA. This filament can be hard on a print nozzle, which is why we were sure to use the Ultimaker 2+ printer. The 2+ nozzles can be fairly easily swapped, and only cost $11 to replace.
In addition to being magnetic, the iron blend is also rustable. We took the peacock print home for the weekend and used a solution of white vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and table salt to try to give it an aged, rusted look. We coated the peacock with the solution, placed it in a sealed bread bag, then left it outside in the sun for the afternoon (shaking it occasionally to recoat the object in solution). Full instructions for this process can be found here, Improved Rusting Method for Iron Prints. The final product was pretty impressive, and looked more like something we dug out of the ground than something we had just 3D printed.

Peacock with one of Rob Neilson’s Teddy Box objects printed in the same filament that had not been rusted.

 

The two replicas together (in different light than the other photos).

Big thank you to our friend Beth Zinsli in the Wriston Art Center galleries for letting us scan one of the collection’s objects.

How-to: Scan your face for 3D printing

I was first exposed to the reproduction of human faces through the action film, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Agents in the Mission Impossible movies often use facial images to create masks that enable flawless impersonations of their nemeses. The process I am about to explain is our Makerspace’s version of facial duplication, which was mentioned in the 3D printing and Ceramics post.

What you need for 3D scanning:
• Scanner: Fuel3D scanner
• Target: Fuel3D handheld target
• Battery pack: Amazon Basics portable battery pack (update: OR AC adapter for wall power)
• Computer program: Fuel3D Studio, Studio Advanced version

Scanning Materials

From left to right: battery pack, scanner, target.

Set-up
1. Obtain a code for the Studio Advanced version of Fuel3D Studio
2. Open Fuel3D Studio on a computer and enter the code
3. Connect the scanner to the computer (micro-USB to USB)
4. Connect the scanner to the battery pack (jack to USB)

Scanning 
1. Open the Viewfinder in Fuel3D Studio. The person whose face is being scanned should hold a Scanify target next to their face or under their chin.

Target position

2. The person taking the scan should hold the scanner so that the face and the target are visible in the Viewfinder.

Side view

3. Adjust the scanner until a green check mark is visible. This means that the scanner has recognized the face.

Viewfinder checkmark

4. Capture the image by pressing one of the buttons on the scanner’s handles.

Capture image

Cropping
Choose the image you want to 3D print and click the Crop icon. Select Positive Crop Zone and place dots around the entire face. Click the check mark when done.

Crop

Volumizing
Next to the Crop icon, click on the Remesher Tools icon. Then select the Volumizing tool. There are 3 options:
• Flat– makes your face into a flat-bottomed solid.
• Extruded– makes your face into a mask-like solid.
• Mirrored– duplicates your face onto both sides of a solid.

Flat volume

Flat volume

Extruded Volume

Extruded volume

MIrrored volume

Mirrored volume

Optional Tools
Fuel3D Studio provides options to fix holes, smooth edges, adjust volume thickness, decimate the solid’s vertices, and equalize the solid’s surface geometry. For the face scans I’ve done, the default settings for all of these tools have worked just fine.

Save and Print
Click on the Save icon. Name your file and choose STL as the format. Now your file is ready to 3D print! I used Cura for slicing, and an Ultimaker 2+ Extended for 3D printing.