Rapid Prototyping imitates real life

Creating a museum model of a lifelike crocodile involves a great deal of skill and the request from reknown exhibition preparator, taxidermist and model maker Ewin Wood, required a lot more ingenuity than most.

Ewin already had a skull of the Gharial crocodile; however, it was too large for the intended display case. He needed the skull to be scaled down and accurately reproduced so that they could replicate a body that would allow the entire specimen to be displayed in a three meter long glass case.

Exhibitions of this caliber are prized for their accuracy and authenticity, so it was paramount that every detail be exact, even in a smaller reproduction specimen.

RapidPro was employed to recreate the Gharial skull. For this to be as accurate as possible, RapidPro contacted ScanXpress who were able to create detailed CAD files by scanning the actual crocodile skull.

The CAD files were then passed on to RapidPro for scaling and building. Once the skull was resized to accommodate the display case requirements, the skull model was built from plaster/epoxy for ease of finishing and authenticity. The skull was then sent to Ewin Wood for finishing.

The result is a lifelike model of the Gharial crocodile, currently on display at Crocosaurus Cove, Darwin as part of The World of Crocodile Exhibit.

Delivering High Quantities of Prototypes Fast

Objective3D Direct Manufacturing produces parts using a range of additive and conventional manufacturing technologies. We offer tailored solutions for your project’s needs. If your project requires larger quantities of small parts – fast, Laser Sintering is the best technological solution for you. Per-part pricing is reduced as quantities increase, but there are more advantages to using Laser Sintering for small prototypes than price alone. Laser Sintering (LS) provides strong, versatile and geometrically intricate components made from filled and un-filled nylon materials that are ideal for fit and form verification and functional testing. Prototypes made with LS are created quickly and offer robust solutions for your project. FAST Delivery Laser Sintering can provide sturdy, functional prototypes as little as 24 hours. Multi-component designs can be incorporated into single structures, allowing engineers to produce complex features and geometries in one print, and elim...

How Artec Space Spider helps measure the shape-shifting of birds in response to climate change.

Challenge: In the past century, researchers have been studying a variety of birds in Australia to see how their bodies have changed as a result of global warming in order to determine how to adjust. In order to document the exact dimensions of thousands of beaks of 86 different species of birds in museums in a fast, accurate, and convenient manner, they needed a fast, accurate, and convenient method. Solution: Artec Space Spider, Artec Studio Results: By using the handheld 3D scanner Artec Space Spider, each bird can be scanned in submillimeter colour 3D in approximately two minutes. This makes it easy to scan anywhere from 30-50 birds in one museum visit. Scan processing takes just under six minutes for each bird. PhD candidate Sara Ryding 3D scanning an Australian galah (Eolophus roseicapilla) with Artec Space Spider (image credit: Sara Ryding) One of the most startling impacts of global warming has taken place for decades now: multiple species of birds around the world have b...

3D scanning and reverse engineering streamline original furniture design and production

MU Form Furniture Design is an Oakland-based company that designs, manufactures and distributes furniture products for the modern home and business. The company is never short of orders since good and original design is sought after by architects and interior designers. The main material MU Form works with is high-quality bent ply, which is one of the most widely used materials in this industry due to its ability to create a variety of shapes for chairs, stools, and tables. The company’s specialists seek to create great designs that pose a challenge for other manufacturers to copy or replicate. The V Dining Chair in red and grey, designed by MU Form’s Po Shun Leong. “Our designers are tasked to develop furniture designs that require a significant amount of trial and error by developing physical prototypes of chairs and stools,” says Mark Leong, CEO of MU Form. To produce a new original piece of furniture, MU Form would normally ship a physical prototype model to a factory ...

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