Media Release: Mohawk creates exact replica of Neolithic Japanese vase using 3D technology and Siemens CT scanner
HAMILTON (December 1, 2015) – The intricate details of a 4,000 BCE clay artifact, normally displayed behind glass, can now safely be touched and handled thanks to Mohawk College’s Additive Manufacturing Resource Centre.
In a project led by Mohawk professors Reid Flock and Robert Gerritsen, a Neolithic Jomon piece from Japan, owned by Burlington, Ontario-based retired architect James Koyanagi, was scanned using a high resolution CT (computerized tomography) scanner. Thanks to Trillium Health Partners - Mississauga Hospital and Siemens Healthcare, a Siemens SOMATOM Definition Flash CT, was used during a staff training session. As a result of this partnership and collaboration with the three teams, an exact replica of the interior and exterior of the vase was able to be reproduced using an additive manufacturing technology called selective laser sintering.
The Additive Manufacturing Resource Centre is now among the first in Canada and the only college in Ontario to use a combination of 3D scanning and 3D printing to advance archeological conservation and preservation. It is also among the first to use medical data to build a CAD file that could recreate an archeological piece.
The resulting plastic vase, printed in a grade of Nylon 12, is an exact replica of the original 4,000 BCE piece. The replica will allow researchers to examine the full details of the original fragile piece, without risking damage or harm to the piece. Additionally, from the model that was made from the scan, it is now possible to recreate the missing pieces of the vase both digitally and physically through further 3D printing.
From concept to execution, the project incorporated an interdisciplinary approach. Mohawk’s Additive Manufacturing Resource Centre (AMRC), established in 2014, has already been praised as being a hot spot of applied research, educating and testing for the 3D printing and additive manufacturing revolution. For the Jomon project, the Centre’s researchers and students collaborated with Mohawk’s ceramics faculty and healthcare professionals based at Sunnybrook hospital.
QUOTES:
This is an opportunity to bring Health Care, the Arts and Technology together through the use of Additive Manufacturing. The entire process, from scanning to the printing, has produced an impressive final product that we can use for further conservation efforts.
What we have experienced with the help of Siemens Canada and the AMRC at Mohawk are two firsts. To our knowledge, no one has CT scanned a Neolithic Jomon piece in its entirety and had it 3d sintered. As you can imagine, the applications with this are far reaching. Conservation and restoration efforts, study collections, and artistic possibilities within the ceramics field will greatly benefit from our research.
It’s very exciting to see advanced healthcare and advanced manufacturing technology being combined for a new and unique application such as archeological study. Siemens is amazed at what was accomplished by our partners at Trillium Health and Mohawk College using our CT scanner and we are honoured to have been a part of it.
Downloadable video of the vase is available at: https://vimeo.com/143034234.
For more information, please contact:
Andrea Johnson
Promotions and Industry Liaison Officer
Mohawk College
Phone: 905-870-3049
andrea.johnson4@mohawkcollege.ca
Ann Adair
VP Communications & Government Affairs
Siemens Canada
Phone: 416-567-7831
ann.adair@siemens.com
Follow us: www.twitter.com/siemenscanada
Mohawk College educates and serves more than 32,500 full-time, part-time, apprenticeship and international students at four main campuses in Hamilton, Ontario and learning hubs across Hamilton through City School by Mohawk, as well as at the Mohawk College Mississauga Campus in partnership with triOS College. Mohawk is committed to upholding an equitable, diverse and inclusive learning, working and engaging environment for students, employees and the community. The college is among the top colleges for applied research in Canada. It has been named one of Hamilton-Niagara’s top employers and one of Canada’s greenest employers, and holds a GOLD STARS rating from AASHE for sustainability achievements. More than 165,000 people have graduated from Mohawk since it was founded.