Stratasys helps bring ancient artifacts to life with 3D printing

Stratasys and Google Arts and Culture are re-imagining some of the world’s most cherished artifacts and historical monuments through additive manufacturing.

Backed by advanced colour and multi-material functionality of the Stratasys J750 3D Printer, historians can now re-create these items digitally and physically, raising both awareness and accessibility of ancient history.

Google Arts and Culture is capitalising on Stratasys technology for its Open Heritage Project– designing and creating historical pieces with multi-material and multi-colour 3D printed prototypes.

The company says with 3D printing, these remains can be more effectively preserved and shared, with files available for download around the world.

“The project was to explore physically making these artifacts in an effort to get people hooked and excited about seeing pieces in a museum or research context. That’s when we turned to 3D Printing,” said Bryan Allen, Design Technologist at Google.

“With the new wave of 3D Printed materials now available, we’re able to deliver better colours, higher finish, and more robust mechanical properties – getting much closer to realistic prototypes and final products right off the machines.”

Rafie Grinvald, Enterprise Product Director of Rapid Prototyping, Stratasys, said: “Combining rich colours and translucency in a single print, designers and engineers can build models with heightened levels of accuracy and realism, mirroring opaque or transparent structures, and even complex materials like rubber.”