An Introduction to 3D Printing and its Applications in Cultural Heritage

Over the past 15 years, 3D printed objects have become familiar items to be found in Museums and Libraries, both in the context of objects entering collections and also as a tool for preservation and access activities. Collecting institutions have applied 3D printing for:  conservation treatments; storage, display, and transit of objects; and education and public engagement. However, the fast development of the technology and the ever-growing variety of materials that can be printed present major challenges for institutions both in using the technology and in caring for 3D printed art.

This virtual seminar will provide an introduction to 3D printing and will present an overview of 3D printing processes, terminology, commonly printed materials, and application areas within a cultural heritage setting. Also covered will be the findings from a recent field-wide survey on 3D printing and 3D printed objects in collecting institutions and ongoing research at the Image Permanence Institute in this area.

Meredith Noyes is a Research Scientist at the Image Permanence Institute, located at the Rochester Institute of Technology (IPI), Rochester, NY, USA where she performs research related to materials used for storage, transport, and display of cultural heritage collections. She also manages the operation of IPI’s ISO testing services. She holds a PhD in chemistry from the University of Oregon, where she gained experience in a variety of material characterization methods while studying nanomaterials for application in the semiconductor industry. Prior to IPI, she held a postdoctoral fellowship at the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum Conservation Institute, conducting collections-based research in the microanalysis laboratory.