Making your own copies of the Met’s masterpieces with a 3D printer

June 12, 2012
marsyas-for-web

Marsyas, by Balthasar Permoser, is made of marble. Copy of Marsyas by Bror is made of thin layers of plastic extruded by a 3D printer. (Credit for copy: Bror)

A group of 3D printing enthusiasts from the MakerBot community has visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and scanned 34 sculptures with 3D capture software loaded on their phones, Discover Magazine 80 Beats report.

The scans were then converted into blueprints that people with 3D printers can use to make their own tiny copies or to make their own works of art.

People have already begun to print their own, like the bust of Marsyas, and post their photos on Thingiverse, MakerBot’s social database of designs.

You can see all of the sculptures and their digital files here.