It’s amazing that anything that old survives today, and it’s even more amazing that some of it still remains whole. James Koyanagi, a retired architect in Burlington, Ontario, is the owner of a Jōmon vase that dates back to 4000 BCE. Such an object leaves researchers salivating, but due to its extreme age and fragility, close study of the vase hasn’t been possible without incurring damage. Until now, that is.
Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario is home to the sophisticated Additive Manufacturing Resource Centre (AMRC). Opened in 2014, it’s already established a reputation for being one of the best sources of 3D printing and additive manufacturing research and education in Ontario. Mohawk professors Reid Flock and Robert Gerritsen decided to take advantage of the facility to recreate Koyanagi’s vase in perfect detail.
“What we have experienced with the help of Siemens Canada and the AMRC at Mohawk are two firsts,” said Flock. “To our knowledge, no one has CT scanned a Neolithic Jōmon piece in its entirety and had it 3D sintered. As you can imagine, the applications with this are far reaching. Conservation and restoration efforts, study collections, and artistic possibilities within the ceramics field will greatly benefit from our research.”
“It’s very exciting to see advanced healthcare and advanced manufacturing technology being combined for a new and unique application such as archaeological study,” said Jim Graziadei, Managing Director, Siemens Healthcare Canada. “Siemens is amazed at what was accomplished by our partners at Trillium Health and Mohawk College using our CT scanner and we are honoured to have been a part of it.”
The project involved a large team of people that included both students and professors from Mohawk College, along with healthcare professionals from Sunnybrook Hospital. Tremendous advancements in archaeological research have been made recently thanks to 3D scanning and printing, and the Jōmon project is an example of how archaeology is becoming a much more interdisciplinary field as the technology has advanced.
“This is an opportunity to bring Health Care, the Arts and Technology together through the use of Additive Manufacturing,” said Tony Thomas, Dean of Engineering Technology at Mohawk College. “The entire process, from scanning to the printing, has produced an impressive final product that we can use for further conservation efforts.”
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