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  • 1.  3D Printing and Historic Costume

    Posted 04-20-2015 02:52 PM

    Hi Everyone,

      

    We are currently looking into replacing a missing button on one of our garments with a 3D printed replica of the original button.  Has anyone used 3D printed materials with museum garments or do you know of any institution that has?  

     

    We are looking into the materials we can use in the 3D printer, but want to make sure that the finished button will be safe and not harm the garment at all. 

     

    Thank you all for any help that you can give us.

    ------------------------------
    Michael Shepherd
    Archives Specialist
    Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection
    Philadelphia PA
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  • 2.  RE: 3D Printing and Historic Costume

    Posted 04-21-2015 07:27 AM

    Hi Michael:

    Since you are based here in Philadelphia, you may want to check out the 3D printing information session / workshop this Friday, as part of Philly Tech Week. The panelists, etc. will likely be able to answer questions about materials, and based on the photo here, you may even be able to test a few!

    http://2015.phillytechweek.com/events/museums_and_3d_technology

    Best of luck!
    ------------------------------
    Heather Paroubek
    Curatorial Assistant
    Philadelphia PA
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  • 3.  RE: 3D Printing and Historic Costume

    Posted 04-21-2015 05:12 PM

    Hi Mr. Shepherd,

    We did precisely this for a 1950s Tina Leser silk jumpsuit at the Cincinnati Art Museum.  Our friends at Ethicon Endosurgery, a Johnson & Johnson Company, scanned an original button from the jumpsuit and printed it (several times).  The printed buttons got a paint job (by the objects conservator, Kelly Schulze, who has the more deft hand for recreating a metal patina) and the replacement buttons are only distinguishable from the original upon close inspection.  We trusted the Oddy testing of others, Ethicon's research (they make medical devices), and the material content of the printer materials in this instance, so I'm afraid I don't have any "real" testing results for aging properties to share with you.  I'm sure more research on the long-term stability of materials used for 3D-printing would be very welcomed by all of us.  Good luck!

    ------------------------------
    Chandra Obie
    Textile Conservator
    Cincinnati Art Museum
    Cincinnati OH
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: 3D Printing and Historic Costume

    Posted 04-22-2015 09:15 AM
    Thank you so much for the replies. We will be attending the 3D lecture since it is actually hosted by our lab. Chandra, do you know which type of plastic you decided to use for the button? ------------------------------ Michael Shepherd Archives Specialist Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection Philadelphia PA ------------------------------


  • 5.  RE: 3D Printing and Historic Costume

    Posted 04-22-2015 11:12 AM

    Many 3D printers lack resolution, meaning you will get lines in the print.  My suggestion is to have the object scanned in using a 3D scanner fix any issues then send it to a company like Shapeways.  Shapeways uses a different process then off the shelf 3D printers (Like a Makerbot). They can print with many materials (Glass, Steal, Silver, Plastic).  Current 3D printers use plastic filament to lay down each layer this layering can cause lines to appear in the printed object; there are ways to smooth out the lines but details can get lost. Shapeways materials are in powder form and a laser is used to melt each layer of the powder which produces super fine details.  After the object is printed it can then be polished.

    3D printers are great and I have one myself, but if you are looking for quality and may only print a few times a year you might end up frustrated with an off the shelf printer and the learning curve needed to achieve a good quality print. I would invest in a good 3D scanner or 3D scanner service and send it to a company that can print your object in high quality.

    There is a new 3D printer on the market (or coming soon) that does not us filament but liquid and uses a laser (maybe UV light not sure) that could produce high quality prints but I would guess that the price is expensive and the liquid that is used is limited in colors and expensive.

    Side note: 3D printer filament is an ABS or PLA plastic that come in may colors.  They are now adding wood, metal and other materials to the filament to get wood or metal prints. But you will still end up with the layer lines also the 3D printer software is not like printing with your Epson printer.  There are many settings and things to consider when using a 3D printer e.g. layer height, filament temp, printer bed temp, how much in-fill, filament retraction when moving across a print, support structure, cooling between layers, printer bed leveling and many other things to consider in order to achieve a good print.

    ------------------------------
    Raymond Stivala
    Manager of Web/Multimedia Development
    The Newark Museum
    Newark NJ
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: 3D Printing and Historic Costume

    Posted 04-22-2015 11:28 AM

    Hi, Michael -

    I'm currently producing a traveling exhibition in which all of the exhibit specimens are created by 3D printing.  As others here have noted, all 3D printers are NOT created equal.  FDM printers (Makerbot, etc.) commonly found at the "pro-sumer" level will not have high enough resolution for your application, so sourcing the print out is probably the way to go.  If you get an SLA or SLS print made, you should be able to get very good resolution.  There are printers used in the jewelry and dental industries that offer very high resolution for small-scale objects.  If you're having difficulty finding someone to scan or print your button, message me and I can connect you with one of the technicians we've been working with. 

            Cheers,

                   Michael


    ------------------------------
    Michael Holland
    Principal/Owner
    Michael Holland Productions
    Bozeman MT
    ------------------------------


    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: 3D Printing and Historic Costume

    Posted 04-23-2015 07:33 AM
    Raymond and Michael, Thank you for your help. Personally, I am just interested in 3D printing, so I knew some of what you were talking about, but am obviously no expert. Luckily, being a collection at a tech-forward university, I don't have to know the technical details and we can work with the Product Design lab in our college where they are working with these materials everyday. We used a makerbot to create our rough draft, which allowed us to see if any changes would need to be made, but are now switching over to a higher end 3D printer (which the name of I can't remember), that can print a variety of filaments at a layer resolution of 0.1. The lab knows of a few ways for smoothing and polishing each material, so we are confident we can't create a button we are happy with, but we are concerned about long term effects of the button on our garment. We feel much better knowing that the Cincinnati Art Museum was able to use oddy testing of the material (which I assume is either ABS or PLA since they are the most widely used) but am looking for some form of confirmation. thank you though. And I'm glad to see others in museum settings embracing new technology enough to know such detailed technical information. ------------------------------ Michael Shepherd Archives Specialist Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection Philadelphia, PA


  • 8.  RE: 3D Printing and Historic Costume

    Posted 04-24-2015 10:13 AM


    Long-term stability and potential reactivity are areas that I have not seen much information on when it comes to 3D print polymers, but it's good to hear that some are beginning to look at those issues.  Using SLS printing it is possible to use materials such as titanium, glass, or ceramic, which may avoid some of the potentially harmful chemical interactions that can be of concern to conservators.  However, since the bulk of printers (especially the most affordable ones) are using plastics as their primary building materials, this issue is definitely worth exploring.  3D printing is becoming widely used in biomedical and dental applications, which I expect will help continue to drive research into inert (or nearly so) materials that might also be appropriate for archival applications.  If there's one thing I've learned about this industry since beginning my exhibit project, it is that it is evolving at incredible speed. 

         Cheers,

     

             Michael

     


    ------------------------------
    Michael Holland
    Principal/Owner
    Michael Holland Productions
    Bozeman MT
    ------------------------------


    Original Message