Sculpture – Scansite

3D Scanning Daniel Chester French’s “Black Angel”

David Bassett — Thu, 09 Jun 2016 18:16:32 +0000

Watch the video: http://www.ketv.com/news/council-bluffs-neighborhood-association-pay-9000-for-3d-scan-of-black-angel/39675186

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – June 1, 2016 – The “Black Angel,” is a nationally known monument that pays tribute to Ruth Anne Dodge, Gen. Grenville Dodge’s wife.

The sculptor who made it is the same man who crafted the “Seated Lincoln” statue the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

For nearly a century, she’s gazed at the sky in the heights of Lincoln Fairview neighborhood.

“That monument is a world-class treasure,” said Susan Seamands, a former president of the Lincoln Fairview Neighborhood Association. “With that, comes some responsibility.”

Scansite Chief Technical Officer David Bassett’s job is to record and preserve that legacy.

“I love art, and so we get to seeing some beautiful art, and that’s a good example right there,” he said.

The city of Council Bluffs and the neighborhood paired up to hire a California company to record the Ruth Anne Dodge Memorial in three dimensions.

The sculpture was inspired an angelic vision. Bassett used a structured light scanner more than 100 times over two nights.

“This machine is not only doing a 3D scan, it’s doing a photogrammetry session, so what that means is it’s using those markers to align all those scans,” Bassett said.

From every angle, light danced across the angel at night. Bassett spent 18 hours turning art into raw data.

“When we go back to home base in California with the data, we’ll spend days editing it,” he said.

The work is being done to ensure the work of a renowned sculptor keeps her place for another century to come.

Scansite3D Provides 3D Scanning and 3D inspection and analysis of Rodin’s Hands for Stanford University

David Bassett — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 12:45:22 +0000

Stanford University Medical Center Uses 3D Sculptures to Demonstrate and Train Clinical Anatomy and Surgical Students

SAN RAFAEL, California – June 25, 2015 – Scansite3D, the leading provider of 3D scanning, 3D inspection and analysis and reverse engineering, has posted a case study highlighting its innovative work with Stanford University. Scansite3D provided high-quality 3D scans of the Rodin sculptures at the Cantor Museum, which has an extensive artwork collection, including a collection of Rodin bronzes that is among the largest in the world. It was here that art, and specifically Rodin’s hand sculptures, was used to teach students how to diagnose what they saw, since many of the Rodin sculptures depicted disfigurement and look like some hands being treated in surgery.

Stanford’s Division of Clinical Anatomy was tasked with scanning the sculptures, adding CT scans of actual patients with the same conditions as the Rodin sculptures, and superimposing those CT scans inside the hands for a three-dimensional view for students. This is called Augmented Reality (AR). The team needed a scanning provider with capabilities and precision expertise to get deep inside of the Rodin sculptures. To realize this cutting edge dream, the organization brought in Scansite3D, with its expertise, experience and attention to detail necessary to cater to museums, cultural artifacts and priceless sculpture projects like this one.

“3D scanning technology is improving over time but to get an accurate representation, especially with subjects as detailed as these, you need very high quality,” said Dr. W. Paul Brown, Consulting Associate Professor at Stanford University, who played a lead role in the project. “In addition to the fact that they seemed to be the only ones capable of achieving our goals, Scansite 3Dwas enormously patient and helpful with our inquiries. The results were extraordinary.”

According to Matthew Hasel, Clinical Anatomy Production Manager, Stanford University, “Scansite3D has the detailed experience we needed and a fantastic reputation. They’re known for museum quality work. Their expertise and experience made it possible for us to be comfortable letting them handle things and assured us from the start that we’d get great results. Scansite 3D was a piece of cake to work with and delivered exactly what we needed. The project could not have been done without them.”

See how Scansite3D teamed up with Stanford to use 3D scanning of Rodin sculptures to teach surgery techniques. Inside Rodin’s Hands Teaching Surgery through Art and Anatomy, Stanford Clinical Anatomy.

“We were honored to be chosen and excited to be part of this cutting-edge project,” said Lisa Federici, CEO of Scansite3D. “Working with such a forward thinking team was a pleasure and I love the fact that the findings were used to educate new doctors and surgeons. Scansite3D technology collects over 5 million points per scan, which gave us all of the detail we would ever need. That same attention we give to Rodin, we give to all of our clients. We know that’s how exceptional results happen.”

About Scansite3D
With its internationally acclaimed studio in the San Francisco Bay Area, Scansite3D is a full-service 3D scanning, 3D metrology, 3D inspection and analysis and reverse engineering company. With the expertise, experience and attention to detail necessary to cater to world-class museums and legacy car owners, Scansite 3D provides meticulous and state of the art services to every industry. With more than 20 years of experience, Scansite3D helps its customers surpass their 3D scanning goals. Go here for more information about 3D scanning or call us at (415) 488-9500.

Scansite Provides 3D Scans of Rodin’s Hands for Stanford’s Division of Clinical Anatomy

David Bassett — Sat, 06 Jun 2015 15:01:17 +0000

For an accurate representation of these detailed sculptures, with their many nooks and crevices, Stanford University
needed a scanning provider that could deliver extremely high quality 3D scans. Using Three Dimensional Sculptures to Demonstrate and Train Clinical Anatomy and Surgical Students at Stanford University Medical Center, Scansite Provides 3D Scans of Rodin’s Hands for Stanford’s Division of Clinical Anatomy

Read the PDF case study here. Scroll down or right-click to download.

3D Scanning Restores and Replaces Crumbling Courthouse Sculpture

David Bassett — Tue, 01 Oct 2013 02:04:41 +0000

Scansite 3D used 3D scanning and custom editing techniques to provide crucial steps in restoring a historic Santa Barbara fountain.

The Spirit of the Ocean, Santa Barbara’s iconic and seemingly robust fountain, has been crumbling for decades and is on the verge of collapse. The chosen remedy, after years of discussions and planning, was to replace the sculpture.

News Item: 3D Scanning and Custom Editing Restore and Replace Courthouse Sculpture

The next big step in the replacement process was to obtain a three-dimensional scan of the existing sculpture, and Lisa Federici and David Bassett of Scansite 3D were in town to complete that step. The 3D scanning process creates a 3D point cloud or polychrome of the surface in the modeling software. The task was finished Tuesday night an hour before midnight. Bassett and Federici placed evenly spaced registry dots on the sculpture and then proceeded to scan, section by section, the entire accessible surface of the sculpture. They performed about 30 scans, each taking 10 to 15 minutes.

The scan wasn’t conducted in the dead of night to hide the process. Dark is just the obvious and best time to gather data that relies on controlled light sources. A plywood platform was built for the scanner equipment and personnel. The protective plastic sheet that has shielded the sculpture from this season’s weather was removed. Several palm-sized shards from the dolphin-fish head, knocked off by a child climbing on the statue in June, were set aside.

Bassett expects up to 10 days of further manipulation of the scanned images in the software. He traverses the images “patch by patch, spline by spline,” ensuring a file that can be used as both an archival record of the sculpture and as the basis for creating a new model for the sculptors to work from.

Scansite 3D’s target with the project is to provide a 3D scanned image as close to the original sculpture as possible. One version of the file will go on record with the county for future reference. One will be sent to Satellite Models of Belmont. Satellite will take the scan file, feed it into a CNC milling machine, load the machine with appropriate-sized foam blanks and set the machine in motion.

Read the complete article about restoring Santa Barbara’s historic fountain

https://archive.is/oxSv

Scansite 3D Wins Marble Institute of America’s Highest Honor

David Bassett — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 02:14:32 +0000

Museum & Cultural Heritage Santa Barbara County Courthouse

Scansite garners award for their work on the Spirit of the Ocean fountain that stands outside historic Santa Barbara Courthouse. Grand Pinnacle Awards Brochure

Scansite 3D Creates Digital Duplicate of Michelangelo’s Cupid

David Bassett — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 01:43:11 +0000

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Recruits Scansite 3D to Digitize Michelangelo’s Long Lost Cupid Discovered at the French Embassy.

New York, Metropolitan Museum –

The cultural services of the French Embassy in the United States are located on 5th Avenue, not far from the Metropolitan Museum and the Frick Collection. The building, constructed in 1902 by the architect Sanford White, holds a sculpture representing Cupid, long overlooked, in the entrance rotunda.

The attribution to Michelangelo, suggested by Kathleen Weil-Garris Brandt, thrust it into the spotlight, raising passionate debates as is often the case with this artist’s work.

The sculpture’s fate had been under discussion for the last two years, due to the conservation risks if it remained in this spot and because France is thinking about selling the building. Though it seems probable that the Cupid has been there since the beginning, this is a property asset, not real estate, belonging to France, non alienable and indefeasible. The Foreign Affairs department talked to the DMF and the Départément des Sculptures at the Louvre who did not claim the work, probably because that would be seen as inconsiderate towards the United States, and we can only agree on this point. Therefore, after first suggesting a possible loan to the Frick Collection, the Metropolitan Museum was chosen for a deposit. A 10-year agreement will be signed between the museum and “the French government – Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.” In exchange, the Met will offer a cast (produced by computerized 3D modelling, so without touching, thus possibly damaging, the work) which will replace the original, thereby maintaining the rotunda’s original aspect.

The Cupid will be exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum starting in November.

Read full article here: The Cupid attributed to Michelangelo deposited at the Metropolitan Museum

Scansite 3D & AP Proto Team Up to Create 3D Laser Scanning of Sculpture for Notre Dame

David Bassett — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 23:47:23 +0000

Artist Robert Graham recruits Scansite 3D and AP Proto to help him create a new bronze sculpture for the Basilica at Notre Dame University.

Selective Laser Sintering Used to Create Bronze Sculpture for Basilica at Notre Dame University

The additive fabrication process known as Selective Laser Sintering (SLS®) is best known for producing tough, durable parts for rigorous testing and wax patterns for investment casting direct from 3D Computer Aided Design (CAD) data. SLS® has long been a favorite of many designers and engineers and has now found a new proponent in contemporary artist Robert Graham. Historically, Graham has used traditional methods for producing his cast artwork but those methods are known for being slow, laborious and usually result in a loss of some artistic detail. Graham, being the progressive artist that he is, was already using other additive fabrication methods for previous projects and was introduced to the benefits of SLS® technology during his extensive relationship with American Precision Prototyping (APP). Graham was commissioned by the University of Notre Dame to create a 6 foot, full body bronze statue of Father Basile Antoine-Marie Moreau, c.s.c for the Basilica of the Sacred Heart Church at the University. Graham, equipped with the knowledge of a new and improved technology, was faced with the challenge of pursuing this project with traditional methods or with this new additive fabrication process that would not only shorten the project time but would also yield a truer representation of his original sculpture.

Mr. Robert Graham, world renowned Venice, CA artist and sculptor has been creating magnificent works of art since the mid 1960’s. His works have been featured in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, Museum of Modern Art in Paris, France, Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and many other galleries and museums around the world. In addition to museum and gallery artwork, Graham has designed, sculpted and created civic monuments, awards and coins, public and private works and has consulted on several architectural projects. Graham, also known for his bas-relief pieces, sculpted the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C., the Duke Ellington Monument in Central Park in New York City and the Olympic Gateway at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the 1984 Olympic Games.

Graham’s previous public works were monumental cast pieces and were created with the traditional method of enlargement and casting. Typically, traditional methods begin with a hand sketch of the piece followed by the creation of a maquette which is a smaller, sculpted model. The maquette is then taken and enlarged in clay using manual dimension transfer techniques. This step in the process is expensive, time consuming and typically the artistic detail in the maquette is lost in translation when the larger sculpture is completed. Once the large sculpture has been created to the enduse, desired size, it is then cut into smaller, manageable sections. Those smaller sections are then taken and used to create latex rubber and plater molds from which wax patterns will be produced. Once the wax sections have been molded, they are then taken to the foundry and cast into bronze. Once the parts have been cast into metal they are assembled, welded and a finish patina applied.

Graham had utilized additive fabrication, specifically SLS®, SLA® and Polyjet in the past for smaller statues and wall panels that required no secondary finishing or processes. However, this project was unique because the piece was exceptionally large and had to be cast in bronze. This statue, with its intricate detail and size was a challenge not only for APP but also for Graham. All parties involved were on a tight schedule which left no room for error in any phase of the project.

The University of Notre Dame commissioned Graham to create the statue of Father Moreau in honor of his beatification. Beatification is a process by which a person is granted the title of Blessed by the Holy Father declaring that person a model for Christian life and virtue and is a step towards Canonization or being declared a Saint. This title is only given after an exhaustive study into their life, work and practice of virtue. The original ceremony for Father Moreau was held in Le Mans, France on Saturday, September 15th, 2007. Among the 4000 plus in attendance were the Prime Minister of France and his wife. The statue, required for the ceremony at Notre Dame, was held on Thursday, September 20th. In attendance at Notre Dame were members of the Holy Cross community, the Bishop of Bangladesh, the archbishop of Los Angeles, University President Father John Jenkins and university attendees.

In his quest to keep all aspects of the original sketch true, Graham decided to use the 3D laser scanning method combined with additive fabrication and direct digital manufacturing to have his statue created. 3D laser scanning is a faster, more cost effective path from the maquette to the final bronze. This process also allows for retention of the original artistic detail of the handsculpted maquette, reduces time to casting and ensures the model size is accurate.

Graham contacted Scansite 3D, located in Woodacre, California to perform the 3D laser scanning and data collection. Scansite 3D, an industry leader in 3D scanning, had worked with Graham on several projects in the past. Scansite 3D used an ATOS structured light scanner to collect three dimensional data from the physical object. The surface data of the object is captured to create a dense collection of X, Y and Z points in 3D space. This point cloud can easily be exported to polygonal 3D CAD file that can be used in additive fabrication and direct digital manufacturing. The digitizing source of the ATOS scanner is a halogen bulb which gathers 1.4 million points per second which produces a much cleaner, higher resolution file.

Once APP received the scanned file, it was hollowed to facilitate the casting process which requires a wall thickness of approximately .125”. After hollowing, the file was cut into manageable sections which were then cut into smaller segments that were of an appropriate size to fit into the SLS machine. Each segment had to be scaled to account for differential shrinkage that occurs during the additive fabrication and foundry processes. Flanges and bolt holes were designed into the 3D CAD file to facilitate casting and assembly. After the sections were adequately designed for manufacturing, APP was ready to begin building.

Since this was to be a master pattern for metal casting, APP chose to use the SLS® process and 3D Systems’ CastForm™ PS powder to build each segment. CastForm™ powder, with its low density and low ash content, was formulated specifically for the investment casting process and is a favorite among foundries across the country. The 3D Systems Sinterstation® HiQ™ HS was the machine selected for this project. The HiQ HS has a large build envelope of 15x13x18” and a high-powered laser to facilitate faster builds. Eight builds were scheduled to complete the 28 segments that made up the complete statue which would take approximately eleven days of machine time to complete. Each build, holding 3 to 5 segments required an average of 32 hours each. After each build was finished, the parts were required to cool in the machine for several hours before part removal could begin. Once the parts had cooled, they were carefully removed from the bed of powder and cleaned off to remove excess powder with brushes and delicate tools. Once each piece was completely free of excess powder, it was hand dipped into hot, melted foundry wax for a specific amount of time which was dependent on each segment’s thickness. The part was then removed and allowed to drain and cool. After additional hand work, the segments were complete and ready to be packaged and sent to the foundry.

Wax patterns that are created using additive fabrication can typically be processed at the foundry with the same methods as wax patterns created using traditional methods. The foundry takes the CastForm™ pattern and coats it with several layers of ceramic slurry to form a ceramic shell around the part. Once that shell is hardened, it is put into an autoclave to burn out the CastForm™ wax pattern leaving an empty mold. The empty mold is then placed into a furnace at a temperature of approximately 2000 degrees Fahrenheit to cure. After the mold has cured, additional cleaning is performed to remove any remaining CastForm™ material, ash or other debris. This step is crucial to the success of the cast bronze because any imperfections will result in a bad pour and would destroy the detail of the final cast piece. Molten bronze is then poured into the cleaned ceramic molds creating the cast part. After a cooling period, the ceramic shells are removed via a break-out process. Sprues, gates and runners in the casting must be ground off and the part cleaned up and inspected for any porosity, short feeds or other defects. Segments are assembled into sections and sections are assembled to form the complete statue. One of the last steps in the casting process is to apply a finish patina which gives the casting a uniform finish.

The Notre Dame project was ultimately a success. The benefits of additive fabrication and direct digital manufacturing reduced project time, lowered cost and produced the original artistic detail in the bronze. Robert Graham continues to work with APP on new projects and will continue to utilize additive fabrication and direct digital manufacturing on future projects.

See the PDF of this article Selective Laser Sintering Used to Create Bronze Sculpture for Basilica at Notre Dame University

Robert Graham: The Great Bronze Doors for the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels

David Bassett — Thu, 01 Aug 2002 23:25:31 +0000

This insightful book provides an insider’s glimpse into how Scansite 3D helped sculptor Robert Graham create the Vatican’s most ambitious building project since the Renaissance. Spanning over a 2 year period, Scansite 3D used high end 3D laser scanner on tiny, one inch, hand sculpted tiles to produce meticulous 3D data for CNC milling and bronze casting. The resulting files were digitally enlarged a whopping 32 times from their original size!

The book also provides a unique perspective into the world of 3D laser scanning, as told by Robert Graham himself, and gives the reader a glimpse into the creative design process. Reading this book allows one to truly understand the 3D scanning process, as well as, appreciate the beauty and meaning of the Cathedral’s bronze doors. Photographs and technical diagrams are a special treat for readers who like to have the full story!

A multi-year collaboration between artist Robert Graham, Scansite 3D and others is revealed in this fascinating book.

Robert Graham: The Great Bronze Doors for the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, hardcover, by Jack Miles, Peggy Fogelman, Noriko Fujinam

FDR, A Memorial for All of Us

David Bassett — Fri, 12 Jan 2001 06:30:45 +0000

Scansite creates 3D digital files of the new FDR sculpture and bas relief panels for the Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Memorial for All of Us’; Statue of FDR In Wheelchair Added to Tribute

The Washington Post – Washington, D.C.
Author: David Montgomery
Jan 11, 2001

A bronze likeness of a resolute and unashamed Franklin Delano Roosevelt sitting in his wheelchair was unveiled with presidential pomp beside the Tidal Basin yesterday, a powerful and controversial touch added to the 31/2-year-old FDR Memorial.

The refrain on many lips during the ceremony — “He did it all from his wheelchair” — was both a rallying cry for disability rights and a tribute to the president, whose privacy about his condition initially caused planners to omit a depiction of him in the contraption he designed and built with a kitchen chair and bicycle wheels.