During the past few months, Fab Lab ABQ has been experimenting with archaeologist, Matthew Bandy PhD at SWCA Environmental Consultants,in replicating shards of pottery, arrow and spearheads with digital technology.

Often, due to various regulations, artifacts found on Native American or private land are only photographed and detailed in notes, and then returned to their original placement.

Matthew has sought to take the process further by examining and then rebuilding the lost objects so they can be exhibited to a larger audience, such as in a museum.

By making 3-D scans of the objects with our Next Engine 3-D scanner,

Fab Lab ABQ has been able to capture the minute detail of the artifacts, and build computer models that translate the information into 3-D print outs with a  Z-Corp machine.

Due to the success of our first endeavor working with SWCA Environmental Consultants, SWCA has contracted for ten projectile points to be scanned and replicated using the process described above. This project is a very exciting project for us. We hope to develop this process even further due to the abundance of archaeological treasures in the great South West!

For more information on the important work SWCA does:

www.swca.com