Learning how to use modern CNC, laser and 3d printing technologies to recreate old historic items is inspiring the use some old skills in modern design.

Our work in  archive digitisation and then looking at the best way to present the data needs the most modern scanning and web techniques.

ARCHAEOLOGY

As an experiment in the use a Trotec 300 laser cutter on loan to the FabLab we made a recreation of a jade Cong or "Tsung" the dimensions of which were found on a Chinese web site. These along with the round bi disks are attributed to being ritual objects associated with death and burial.

"If you make something you will understand how it works" inspired a thought that we may understand what its function was for so. We made a mirror to reflect the laser to cut at an angle and constructed a Cong at full size from 700 individually laser cut parts from jade coloured perspex. From this and other research we were able to establish that the Cong and bi were in fact part of a network of tools used to ensure the fair and equitable distribution of grain and rice.

We have made some further supporting artifacts intended for use in a documentary about this.

SCHEDULED MONUMENT

The Chatterley Whitfield site is a scheduled national monument which the same status as Stone Henge. Our first work on this for the Friend of Chatterley Whitfield group was to make a large format scanner as part of a scheme to scan the hundreds of underground maps that they have, these show mining progress from the 1800's some of the maps are larger than 10ft by 5ft. We take 100 pictures and stick them together then prepare them to be displayed on a web site. In the long term we en-devour to contribute to the work facilitating development of the site as part of the industrial regeneration in the area.