Can you FATHOM this 3D-printed Sculpture?

Thanks to a partnership between FATHOM, Artworks Foundry and Scansite, some of history’s most easily recognizable pieces of art are now in another dimension! Just look at the picture above from 3ders.com!

When you think of Renaissance art, who do you normally think of? If you said Michelangelo, you’re not alone, because his works are still some of the most extraordinary pieces of art and have withstood the test of time.

Countless companies and individuals have tried their hand at replicating his works but, to no avail.

Now, thanks to 3D scanning and 3D printing, objects from the past are being replicated with greater precision and accuracy than ever before.

FATHOM, Artworks Foundry and Scansite all specialize in something different. FATHOM specializes in 3D printing; Scansite is all about 3D scanning technology; finally, Artworks Foundry is best known for their professional bronze casting.

All three of these specialties were combined for one project known as Renaissance Matters, which is an art liaison that’s received authorization to reproduce 28 of Michelangelo’s works.

The replication process began when Scansite 3D scanned the statues and converted the point cloud data to a 3D-printable STL file that was then used by FATHOM to work their 3D printing magic.

From there, once the replicas were 3D printed, Artworks Foundry used lost wax casting to cast them in bronze, which resulted in the recreation of these ancient works of art.

It’s still uncertain if this combination of technologies will become more and more popular; however, as it stands, the ability to create scaled down replicas of various pieces of history could be great for educational institutions.

Though the original pieces of work will obviously carry the most value, they lack the ability to be in multiple places at once and this innovation could solve that problem by copying these magnificent pieces of history to be displayed in museums all over the world.

So, if you can’t FATHOM that 3D printing companies like Scansite can use their 3D-scanning technology and Artworks Foundry can create bronze casting to replicate history, believe it. Here’s the proof!