Nov 23, 2015 | By Benedict

The conversation surrounding 3D printing and its associated technology often goes hand in hand with talk of “the future”. From concept car manufacturing, to custom-fit Back to the Future style trainers, to synthetic human organs, additive manufacturing has been earmarked for so many weird and wonderful technological uses, it sometimes sounds like a sci-fi fantasy. Given all that talk of the future, it’s actually incredibly refreshing and unusual to hear news of 3D printing being used to explore the extremely distant past. At the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Oxford, 3D printing has been used for exactly that purpose. Dr. Roger Close, a Postdoctoral Research Associate and vertebrate paleobiologist, has used 3D scanning and 3D printing techniques to create scaled-up 3D prints of a 170-million-year-old fossilized mammal jaw, which have been used for close inspection and easy sharing of the ancient specimen.

Dr. Close, an expert in macroevolutionary patterns in fossil records, recently published a paper with several peers about the discovery of a 170-million-year-old fossilized mammal jaw belonging to a mouse-sized creature called Palaeoxonodon ooliticus. The fossil was discovered in Middle Jurassic rocks on the Isle of Skye in Scotland, and the team dealt with their discovery in an unusual manner. “As recently as ten years ago it would have been standard practice to expend a considerable amount of time and effort manually removing the fossil from the hard limestone rock,” explained Close. “However, we were able to use an X-Ray Computed Tomography (CT) scanner at the Natural History Museum in London to obtain an amazingly detailed three-dimensional image of the specimen, so all the preparation could be done digitally.”

The researcher was able to make a 3D surface file from the 3D scan in no time at all, and soon sent the files to 3D printing service i.materialise for a 3D print of the fossil. “I already knew how amazingly detailed the models could be,” said Close, having previously helped colleague process fossil scans for other 3D printing projects. “However,” the expert added, “this was the first time I had used 3D printing for my own research.”

Getting a 3D print of the ancient fossil was important for several reasons. For one, Close was able to order a print scaled up from the original fossil size of just a few millimeters, which allowed the scientist to get a closer look at the fine details of the specimen. “The fact that the model could so easily be scaled up to 20 times its original size made it all the more fun,” admitted Close. “I found that being able to scrutinize a 3D print was genuinely helpful while describing the anatomy of the fossil for publication, as it highlights features that might not be immediately apparent on a computer-screen rendering.”

Thanks to the 3D scanning and 3D printing techniques used, Close and his team made some important discoveries about the Palaeoxonodon ooliticus fossil. Previously, three distinct species had been “discovered” on the basis of individual fossilized teeth, but Close’s discovery may actually prove those three species to be one and the same.

The 3D scanning of the fossil also allowed Close to call upon the help of his peers from across the globe, and share the important findings with them. Close uploaded the 3D files of the mammal jaw to this DataDryad page, where it is freely available for independent research and unlimited future printing. Of course, close inspection and ease of sharing weren’t the only advantages to having a 3D print of the fossil, as the researcher was quick to point out. “The best thing about having a 3D print of the fossil was that I could show the specimen off to colleagues and friends,” joked the paleobiologist. “Virtually everyone who saw it was amazed, particularly when they heard that the model had only cost a tenner!”

For his 3D print of the ancient fossil, Close chose a polyamide material, but expressed interest in using resin printing for future projects. “I thought that the polyamide material was very detailed and represented excellent value for money, though next time I might try one of the more detailed resins,” he explained.

Dr. Roger Close. All images from i.materialise.

Close’s finding are just the latest example of futuristic 3D printing technology being used to unearth secrets of the zoological past. It certainly won’t be the last.

 

 

Posted in 3D Printing Application

 

 

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