Optimising additive manufacturing for fine art sculpture and digital restoration of archaeological artefacts

Additive manufacturing (AM) has shown itself to be beneficial in many application areas, including product design and manufacture, medical models and prosthetics, architectural modelling and artistic endeavours. For some of these applications, coupling AM with reverse engineering (RE) enables the utilisation of data from existing 3D shapes. This thesis describes the application of AM and RE within sculpture manufacture, in order to optimise the process chains for sculpture reproduction and relic conservation and restoration. This area poses particular problems since the original artefacts can often be fragile and inaccessible, and the finishing required on the AM replicas is both complex and varied. Several case studies within both literature and practical projects are presented, which cover essential knowledge of producing large scale sculptures from an original models as well as a wide range of artefact shapes and downstream finishing techniques. The combination of digital technologies and traditional art requires interdisciplinary knowledge across engineering and fine art. Also, definitions and requirements (e.g. ‘accuracy’), can be applied as both engineering and artistic terms when specifications and trade-offs are being considered. The thesis discusses the feasibility for using these technologies across domains, and explores the potential for developing new market opportunities for AM. It presents and analyses a number of case study projects undertaken by the author with a view to developing cost and time models for various processes used. These models have then been used to develop a series of "process maps", which enable users of AM in this area to decide upon the optimum process route to follow, under various circumstances. The maps were validated and user feedback obtained through the execution of two further sculpture manufacturing projects. The thesis finishes with conclusions about the feasibility of the approach, its constraints, the pros and cons of adopting AM in this area and recommendations for future research

Application of additive manufacturing to the digital restoration of archaeological artefacts

A review of literature showed that published applications of Additive Manufacturing (AM) to digital restoration of archaeological artefacts was rather limited. This paper reports a substantial body of work that has been done in this area. It has been used to determine how AM and subsequent processes should be optimally applied, and introduces a series of process maps that have been generated to guide future practical work. The research methodology employed was predominantly action research, where the researcher undertakes practical work in a reflective manner to develop answers to specific research questions, with a combination of questionnaires and expert interviews used for validating the process maps. The results generated from the work indicated that archaeological artefacts can be characterised according to subject, material, complexity of shape, overall size, minimum feature size, and surface finish. The optimised application of AM and subsequent processes can then be specified in response to these requirements. The outputs from the research should prove to be valuable to anyone working in the field of digital restoration and fine art sculpture, particularly when digital capture of shape and the creation of physical replicas are required. The main contribution to knowledge is the characterisation of archaeological artefacts and the resultant process maps derived from this characterisation. However, the range of projects undertaken was not representative of every combination of artefact characteristics, and some requirements could not be met fully by current AM capabilities, so there remains a need for further research on process development

Application of additive manufacturing to the digital restoration of archaeological artefacts

The application of digital technologies to relic conservation is a common research topic in the field of world cultural heritage. Both the inheritance of traditional techniques and the introduction of advanced technologies depend on the users and their awareness and understanding of cultural heritage. Manufacturing processes are the manifestations of culture and art, and there are always new methods appearing in the historical development. Digital technology is now one of these methods, which inherits cultural aspects, improves efficiency and raises quality. Every technology has advantages and limitations. What is important is developing the advantages and avoiding the weaknesses, integrative utilisation, and designing feasible and effective solutions. This paper explains process chains for optimised archiving, restoration, and replication of archaeological artefacts. It shows the exploration of overlapping areas between 3D digital technologies and traditional art, application examples of optimally combined forward and reverse engineering (RE), and developing prospects in the cultural creative industry. The outputs from the research should prove to be valuable to anyone working in the field of digital restoration, particularly when a physical replica is required. This applies in the archaeological domain but also in any field requiring artistic modelling of complex surfaces

Application of additive manufacturing to fine art sculpture

Additive manufacturing (AM) has shown itself to be beneficial in many application areas, including product design and manufacture, medical models and prosthetics, architectural modelling and artistic endeavours. For some of these applications, coupling AM with reverse engineering (RE) enables the utilisation of data from existing 3D shapes. This paper describes the application of AM and RE within sculpture manufacture, in order to optimise the process chain for sculpture reproduction and relic conservation and restoration. This area poses particular problems since the original artefacts can often be fragile and inaccessible, and the finishing required on the AM replicas is both complex and varied. Two on-going projects are presented as case studies: a group of large scale sculptures of horses that will be created and installed in Ordos, Mongolia; and the repair of an antique from the Forbidden City in Beijing. The latter project in particular involves a wide range of artefact shapes and downstream finishing techniques. The combination of digital technologies and traditional art requires interdisciplinary knowledge across engineering and fine art. Also, definitions and requirements (e.g. ‘accuracy’), can be applied in both engineering and artistic terms when specifications and trade-offs are being considered. The paper discusses the feasibility for using these technologies across domains, and explores the potential for developing new market opportunities for AM. The paper finishes with conclusions about the feasibility, constraints, pros and cons of adopting AM in this area

Digital applications in the field of heritage preservation

Digital applications in the field of heritage preservatio