Non-contact generating of replicas - virtual and tangible

Abstract

Generating copies of important archaeological findings has a long tradition at the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum Mainz (RGZM). This paper briefly describes non-contact methods and procedures to generate virtual models and copies in addition to established procedures. Several approaches are presented. These examples from the RGZM collections would have been impossible using classical moulding techniques. Limitations are still present in the quality of the surfaces, the geometric resolutions of very fine structures and the colour reproduction of the 3D-prints.