Preserve, Conserve, Restore

Lately, one of the buzzwords here at Direct Dimensions has been “preservation.” We've had our hands full with challenging and unique projects to conserve and replicate historical treasures. Last week, we worked on a project for the US National Park Service, and we also had a team of engineers on location at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

We believe that our innovative 3D technologies are perfectly suited to preservation applications not only because they are fast and highly accurate, but because they are also non-contact methods of acquiring data for posterity. Previous methods of preservation, such as making castings for replication, have required the application of wax or plaster and pressure that might cause damage to the often-antique item being restored. These methods are often expensive and require many hours of hand-finishing to create a reasonable facsimile. Using 3D laser scanning, DDI can collect that data quickly, and without any physical damage to the subject. Digital modeling can restore details which time and nature have eroded. More than just a close copy, DDI can also provide the data to make an exact replica in a wide selection of materials.

As we are committed to historical preservation, DDI has worked on many digital conservation projects over the years. We have scanned the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, as well as the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery, architectural elements of the Maryland State House, and even the Liberty Bell itself. For more information on our efforts towards historical preservation, check out our project portfolio on art and architecture!