3D printing in the museum: Erarta

Hello! We continue the introductory cycle on the practical application of 3D printing by our clients. In previous materials: How we created a copy of the “ Worker and Collective Farm Women ” for the historical museum of the European Parliament, How we printed a giant machine gun from Mars , 3D printing in art: sculptures by the artist Kavargi .



In this article we will discuss how 3D printing is used in the Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art. Our questions are answered by Alexander Archipenko - the head of the workshop at the museum, and Jan Dubravtsev - an employee of the workshop, an architect.

What is it

The Erarta Museum is one of the most famous museums of modern art in Russia. It is located in St. Petersburg, on Vasilyevsky Island.







A little about the museum:

How was the printer chosen?

What was needed was a printer from a well-known European manufacturer, proven and proven at its best. The ability to print with two materials was obligatory - as the form of the models was assumed to be rather complicated, for which soluble supports are needed. After a brief search and consultation with the manager, the choice fell on the Dutch machine Ultimaker 3 Extended.



Ultimaker 3 Extended

• Technology: FDM
• Extrusion: double
• Calibration: Automatic
• Weight: 11.3 kg
• Size: 342 x 505 x 688 mm
• Construction area: 215 x 215 x 300 mm when printed by one extruder, 197 x 215 x 300 - by two.
• Nozzles: 0.4 mm, optional - 0.8.
• Layers: 200 - 20 microns
• Platform heating: up to 100 ˚C, 4 min
• Nozzle heating: 180-280 C, 2 min
• Print speed: 30-300 mm / s
• Construction speed: up to 16 mm³ / s (with a nozzle of 0.4 mm)
• XYZ accuracy: 12.5 - 12.5 - 2.5 microns
• Noise level: 50 dB
• Filament diameter: 2.85 mm
• Materials: Nylon, PLA, ABS, CPE, CPE +, PVA, PC, TPU 95A, PP
• Price: 349 000 rubles

Ultimaker 3 Extended is a modification of the Ultimaker 3 model, characterized by an enlarged print area: 215x215x300 mm, when using one extruder, and 197x215x300 mm, when printing with two materials.







When buying Ultimaker 3 Extended in Top 3D Shop, the buyer receives gifts - eight REC plastic coils for models, two for printing supports, a lacquer balloon for the platform and, traditionally, free shipping and training.

What is used

The printer was purchased for the production of souvenirs - miniature copies of sculptures from the Erarta Museum exposition.

“The reason for the acquisition was the desire to organize the release of their own souvenirs in the Erarta workshop. The first experiments were reduced models of sculptures from the Museum collection. For the simulation, we use a hand scanner, then we print the master model and cast a series of polymeric materials. We can also make sculptural portraits to order. We hope that the device will serve for a long time. ”

As it was done before

Previously, the same tasks were performed by manual prototyping and sculptural modeling. The services of a sculptor were needed for the manufacture of a master model and there was no guarantee that she would repeat the original exactly.

New opportunities

Using a 3D printer to create reduced copies of sculptures is easy and pleasant, and most importantly, they always repeat all the proportions and shape of the original works. You can scan several objects and put it into operation, whereas earlier it would take much longer.

User Impressions:

“This is our first experience with this kind of technology, before we did not have a 3D printer, there is nothing to compare with. General impressions are: ”

What did you like

• I really liked the auto-calibration of the printer table.
• Printing software, Cura, works well with this printer.
• I liked the ease of replacing plastic and cleaning the extruder.
• Reliability: For 8 months of regular work at the printer, nothing broke and did not hurt.
• The most important thing is that the material is consumed sparingly, and the quality of printing remains high.
• Plastic printer is inexpensive, easy to use and harmless to health.

“The printer was pleased with the simplicity of settings and good print quality for its price. We studied everything from scratch on our own. ”

What did not like

• Autocalibration table was not able to use immediately. The first time I had to do a manual calibration.
• Plastic from different manufacturers is different, the preset print settings in the Cura program are not always suitable, you have to set them manually, spending time and filament on the test print.
• Quality printing takes a long time, the models presented here were printed for 8-16 hours.
• Violations of the temperature regime, such as temperature drops in the room, a draft, can be the cause of poor adhesion of supports and print rejects. It is better to put the printer in a room with a constant temperature, without air flow.
• Layers of the model, at the joints with supports, require post-processing.

Total

The Ultimaker 3 Extended printer has satisfied the customer with its work. Particularly pleased with the reliability of the design, which has been working for more than eight months every day without any problems, and the ability to create copies of the exhibits without the involvement of a sculptor.

“We did not deal with this topic before; this is the first experience for each of us. Just started with the printer out of the box. And it turned out very well. For example, the Girl with Wings — a copy of a sculpture from a joint project with Dmitry Shorin for Pulkovo Airport — came out identical to the original, given the scale. ”

We are pleased that the equipment purchased from us helps in such a good business as the promotion of art. Readers also want to remind you that you can always choose and purchase a 3D printer in our store - Top 3D Shop . Our staff will be happy to advise and help you choose the right printer model for any purpose.



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