May 28, 2016 | By Faith
Traditional means of making often fall out of relevance for a number of reasons. Whether through loss of skillset, or simply through loss of necessity, techniques for production and processes change – and the ancient practice of ship model construction is a fantastic example of such development. From the burial offering purposes of Ancient Greek models, right through to the creation of model fleets for prosperous ship owners across a number of industries and decades, model making has long been a revered craft. Such remains true even today – although methods have changed significantly.
The Seven Provinces galleon is a stunning 17th century warship anchored in the Rotterdam harbour. Significant in size and stature, and loaded in historical and aesthetic detail, the suggestion of a scaled-down version of the vessel would probably intimidate even the most experienced model-maker. However, through the use of 3D printing technology, such a feat has been achieved by Rotterdam-based design studio, & designshop – and with fantastic results.
In only seven months the & designshop duo (Elwin and Nynke van der Hoek) collaborated with a number of talented specialists to create the ship model, which was commissioned – and now proudly sits – in the lobby of a smart London office. In order to move forward with the project, the design studio needed a digital model of the boat: a model which would be extremely complicated. Luckily, the assistant director of Dutch film Michiel de Ruyter was on hand to support with detailed information about life of the legendary captain of the Seven Provinces ship.
From this provided history, and from files retrieved from the studio who did the digital effects for the movie (Belgian company Grid VFX), & designshop were able to construct accurate 3D files of the ship itself. They also relied on the expertise of several other partners. Ab Hoving, a former conservator-restorer from the Rijsmuseum in Amsterdam, designed the main lines of the ship, while Herbert Tomesen of Artitec High End Scale Models was responsible for all other details. The late Cor Emke transferred much of their designs to Autocad. Incidentally, the designers also added a few non-historical details to the model. The steering wheel, for instance, had not been invented in 1666, but just looks fantastic.
All photography by Femke Poort
Through Materialise’s incredible Mammoth Stereolithography 3D printing technique, a 1.5 metre long hull of the Seven Provinces ship could be created – along with all of its additional detailed parts. Finally a traditionally-skilled model maker united all of the 3D printed parts into the model build, and in addition created a series of handmade details (nylon rigging and rope, for example) with which to complete the scale model of the vessel.
Whilst it’s true that 3D printing as a process still cannot produce a final, finished, total product, the benefits of this contemporary and collaborative method of making certainly signify a major change in the way that we create. Hand-crafted details remain essential to such a piece – but it’s the efficiency with which additive manufacture can turn a brief into a realised project (in the case of the Seven Provinces ship within just seven months) that truly highlights the incredible power of this new process. And who knows: maybe 3D printers will be able to build a full-scale galleon in a few years’ time, rather than just the model.
Posted in 3D Printing Application
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Het stuurwiel we rond 1700 geïntroduceerd. Toen was de 7 Provincien al gesloopt. Slordig hoor
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