{"id":5386,"date":"2020-02-06T08:24:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-06T08:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ultimakerstage.wpengine.com\/learn\/"},"modified":"2023-05-19T09:22:43","modified_gmt":"2023-05-19T09:22:43","slug":"naturalis-biodiversity-center-prehistoric-prints-cutting-edge-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ultimaker.com\/de\/learn\/naturalis-biodiversity-center-prehistoric-prints-cutting-edge-technology\/","title":{"rendered":"Naturalis Biodiversity Center: Prehistoric prints, cutting-edge technology"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"naturalis-hero-dino-bones\"<\/div>\n

Naturalis Biodiversity Center: Prehistoric prints, cutting-edge technology <\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n

In 2013, a team\u00a0of paleontologists\u00a0from the the Netherlands‘ national natural history museum, Naturalis\u00a0Biodiversity Center\u00a0travelled to Montana to excavate the skeleton\u00a0of a\u00a0Tyrannosaurus rex.\u00a0Leading the team was\u00a0Prof. Dr. Anne S. Schulp, Researcher of Vertebrate Paleontology at Naturalis\u00a0and Professor of Vertebrate Paleontology at Utrecht University.\u00a0He\u00a0was thrilled:\u00a0The find was incredible.\u202fThe skeleton\u00a0was covered by a three-meter-thick layer of sand\u00a0and\u00a0had been remarkably well-preserved. It was also\u00a0one of the most complete ever discovered, with nearly 80% of its bone volume intact.<\/p><\/div>\n

„A skeleton doesn\u2019t usually end up complete, because there are lots of scavengers\u00a0[in nature],“ Anne said. „Things don\u2019t get fossilized; they get recycled.\u00a0Only when you\u2019re very lucky, bones\u00a0are preserved.\u00a0That\u2019s what happened with the T-rex.“<\/p><\/section>\n

\"trix-t-rex-naturalis\"<\/figure><\/div>\n
Trix the T. rex on display at Naturalis Biodiversity Center<\/div><\/div>\n

From lost to found with 3D printing\u00a0<\/h2>\n

The find, however, was not without its challenges,\u00a0although Anne\u00a0ironically\u202fcalls them „small-scale.“\u00a0Enormous bones from the\u00a0animal\u2019s thigh, lower leg, and shoulder girdle\u00a0were missing, creating\u00a0an obstacle for the Naturalis team,\u00a0which had plans to\u00a0mount and display the\u00a0skeleton\u00a0for the public.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

„You can\u2019t make a cast, because you can\u2019t mirror a cast.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0one of\u00a0the major advantages\u00a0to 3D scanning and printing\u00a0\u2013\u202fyou can mirror,“ Anne said.\u00a0„The\u00a0Ultimaker\u2026 was really accessible, both in terms of the hardware and\u00a0the\u00a0Cura\u00a0software<\/a>\u00a0package\u00a0that is seamlessly integrated. There\u2019s not a steep learning curve. It was easy to set up. Everything just works. The enthusiasm of the\u00a0Ultimaker\u00a0team really helped as well \u2014 we had quite a bit of support.“<\/p>\n

The\u00a0team\u00a0first\u00a0created\u00a0mirrored copies of\u00a0bones. These bones were then printed on\u00a0Ultimaker\u00a03D\u00a0printers<\/a>.\u00a0The results were stunning \u2013\u202fand culminated in a\u00a0complete\u00a0T.\u00a0rex skeleton, named Trix,\u00a0that was\u00a0an „absolute delight to mount.“\u00a0The skeleton\u00a0has\u00a0since toured the world\u00a0\u2013\u00a0stopping in\u00a0Portugal, Scotland, Austria, France, and Spain \u2013\u00a0and\u00a0is now\u00a0back in the Dutch city of Leiden,\u00a0its permanent home.<\/p>\n

A return to a new home\u00a0<\/h2>\n

While Trix was on tour,\u00a0Naturalis\u00a0underwent\u00a0a\u00a0complete\u00a0renovation.\u00a0Its\u00a0interior is open, welcoming, its exhibitions\u00a0increasingly\u00a0interactive, making the museum\u00a0a perfect place for learning,\u00a0discovery,\u00a0and\u00a0exploration.<\/p><\/section>\n

\"naturalis-entrance\"<\/figure><\/div>\n
The entrance hall of the renovated Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, the Netherlands<\/div><\/div>\n

It\u00a0has\u00a0also become a hub for 3D printing. After\u00a0its success with Trix,\u00a0researchers at the museum\u00a0began to use the technology\u00a0for parts of other skeletons \u2013\u202fnamely those of\u00a0five\u00a0triceratops that can be seen around the museum.\u00a0When found,\u00a0the skeletons were severely disarticulated.\u00a0With help from a museum in Indiana, in the United States,\u00a0the team was able to scan\u00a0certain\u00a0bones from\u00a0a similar specimen\u00a0and size them to match.\u00a0Other bones are mirrored.\u00a0After they are 3D printed, they are\u00a0painted\u00a0and mounted, with special attention paid their appearance.<\/p><\/section>\n

\"triceratops-toes\"<\/figure><\/div>\n
Toes from a triceratops skeleton, which have been 3D printed on Ultimaker printers<\/div><\/div>\n

„We sort of try to get a slight difference between the real bone and the 3D printed material to make very clear what the difference is,“ Anne said. „It\u2019s part of the story. We\u2019re not pretending that an element that\u2019s not real, is. If you look closely, you must be able to tell the difference.\u00a0That\u2019s important from an educational perspective.“<\/p><\/section>\n

\"3d-printed-t-rex-naturlais\"<\/figure><\/div>\n
A 3D printed thigh bone on Trix the T. rex<\/div><\/div>\n

Education, environment, and efficacy\u00a0\u00a0<\/h2>\n

That 3D printing can play a part in\u00a0education\u00a0is a bonus for both\u00a0the\u00a0technology and Naturalis. Dinosaurs, Anne said, are already great STEAM (science, technology,\u00a0engineering\u00a0art, and math) ambassadors. Throwing in\u00a0a\u00a0technology\u00a0like\u00a03D printing makes things\u00a0even more\u00a0fascinating, especially for young visitors.\u00a0Today, they can enter the museum and see 3D printers \u2013\u00a0Ultimakers and larger-scale models \u2013 working to fully replicate Trix\u2019s skeleton. When completed, it will be assembled and sent to a museum in Nagasaki, Japan\u00a0for display.<\/p><\/section>\n

\"anne-schulp-naturalis\"<\/figure><\/div>\n
Prof. Dr. Anne Schulp holding 3D printed dinosaur bones at Naturalis Biodiversity Center<\/div><\/div>\n

\u201cWe had so many kids in the 3D printing lab \u2014 you just can\u2019t\u00a0keep\u00a0them away from the\u00a0Ultimaker,“ he said.\u00a0„They want an\u00a0Ultimaker\u00a0for Christmas or their birthday. They set aside their pocket money because they want a 3D printer.<\/p>\n

The choice to use 3D printers at Naturalis is, perhaps surprisingly, one partially made with the environment in mind. The process of creating casts and molds typically requires materials such as silicone,\u00a0epoxy resins,\u00a0and polyurethanes, which\u00a0do not biodegrade \u2013\u202fa fact at odds with the mission of most museums.\u00a0Certain\u00a0PLAs,\u00a0on the other hand,\u00a0are biodegradable, and many\u00a0can be\u00a0composted\u202funder\u00a0the right, often deliberately set, conditions.<\/p>\n




<\/p>\n

<\/p><\/section>\n

\"shoulder-girdle-t-rex-naturalis\"<\/figure><\/div>\n
A 3D printed shoulder girdle on Trix the T. rex. Looking closely, segments are visible, indicating individual prints that have been pieced together<\/div><\/div>\n

Additionally, all\u00a03D printing at\u00a0the museum is done with upcycled PLA filament,\u00a0making the process\u00a0even more\u00a0environmentally friendly.\u00a0In all,\u00a0FFF\u00a0technology has added a great deal of value to the way\u00a0Naturalis\u00a0operates, presents\u00a0exhibits, and collaborates with paleontologists, museums, and educational institutes\u00a0around the world.\u00a0The quality of the final product is\u00a0also\u00a0effective.\u00a0It\u00a0enables researchers, scientists, and museum visitors\u00a0to look at history in ways\u00a0previously\u00a0impossible.<\/p><\/section>\n

\"ultimaker-printers-t-rex\"<\/figure><\/div>\n
Ultimaker 3D printers creating bones for a T. rex skeleton<\/div><\/div>\n

„The level of surface detail,\u00a0those sorts of things\u00a0\u2013\u202fthey\u00a0just shine;\u00a0it\u2019s much beyond what you\u2019d expect,“ Anne said. „It\u2019s hard to put a number on it, but the newness factor helped\u00a0us\u00a0in getting more funding. It was almost more of a return on enthusiasm than a return on investment.“<\/p>\n

Want to learn more about how 3D printing can be used for education?<\/p><\/section>\n

Download the white paper<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n