I wanted to push my digital experimentation further, so I chose to look at 3D scanning technology and printing from a scanned file. Using the 3D scanner from the prototyping workshop, I scanned my wood carving of the Jumbie. I was unsure of how good the quality would be when it comes to printing. The wood carving was placed into the scanner, which records the contours of the objects surface from a 360 degree angle on every axis, and transfers this data to a digital file.
The first scan that was carried out had too much of a low quality. The scan time was too fast (30 minutes) and as a result, the surface was rough and less detailed. However, once the scan quality was increased (1 hour), the difference in quality was noticeable and much better and more detailed. I saved the scan as an STL. file and opened it up on my laptop. I was able to fully rotate the scanned image of the wood carving. I then placed it into Autodesk Netfabb to get rid of any roughness or holes on the surface and then sent it to the 3D printer SD card.
Evaluation
The print was fast and highly detailed. When placed next to the original model, I could see that it was almost an exact replica of the sculpture that I had made by hand and it was satisfying to see that most of the small carving details had been picked up. Although I could not pick up many of the lines, the other small details such as the teeth were easily printed, and the 3D scan had maintained the shape of the original model well. This was a useful test as I did not originally consider using the scanner for any part of my project. It was exciting to see that this handmade sculpture could fit in so well with the printed digital sculptures, almost without being able to tell that it was not made digitally. I liked seeing how the complicated process of scanning, fixing and printing could result in a small yet detailed product.
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