Printing ancient art in 3D

THE SMALL, ornate figurines look like relics of a bygone age: a serene Buddha’s head from the Tang dynasty, or a collection of stone-faced soldiers from the Qin era. The creation process, however, is decidedly modern.

In Shaanxi province’s capital of Xian, home to such historic sites as the clay Terracotta Army and the 1,000-year-old Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, a small studio and factory uses 3D printing technology to replicate ancient art.

“All the intricate details of the original design are preserved in a 3D mould,” said Xi Xin, the president of the Xian Chizi Digital Technology company.

“Human workers may not be able to produce everything we want in the design, but the printer can do it all.”

The firm is among the businesses taking advantage of China’s foray into 3D printing – a rapidly-growing industry that is part of the national manufacturing strategy.

The company has developed its 3D design technology over the last 10 years, using a stereolithography machine to print carefully-constructed digital replicas of historic artifacts.

The design process can take between one to three months, while printing requires up to several weeks of time for the more elaborate pieces.

Once the prototype is complete, it will be massproduced in a factory using the same material – usually wood or copper – as the relic it was modelled on.

The final products – painted miniatures sold for between 20 yuan (RM12.90) and 500 yuan (RM322.10) – are popular among the tourists who flock to Xian, known as the oldest of China’s four great imperial capitals.

The figurines ( above) are now being sold at the mausoleum for Qin Shi Huang, China’s first emperor, and his Terracotta Warriors.

There, at the burial place dating back to 200BC, visitors can hold the 3D ‘artifacts’ of China’s future in the palm of their hands. – AFP-Relaxnews