Birmingham experts use latest technology to ‘print’ Staffordshire Hoard replicas

THE latest technology is being utilised by experts at Birmingham City University to produce exact 3D replicas of pieces of the Staffordshire Hoard.

The university’s Jewellery Industry Innovation Centre (JIIC), part of the Birmingham School of Jewellery, is utilising complex CAD/CAM and laser technologies linked to 3D printers to produce the replicas.

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery approached the JIIC to see whether it was possible to use the new technology to produce the replicas.

The reproductions are so experts can handle and study the artefacts without the need to touch the real thing, the pieces of which are far too delicate to risk being damaged.

The JIIC, which worked with printer supplier Solidscape on the project, is now looking at commercialising the technology to provide new solutions for businesses.

Frank Cooper, of the JIIC, said: “We work in conjunction with local industries to give them access to various high-end technologies that they might not normally have access to.

“[The centre] allows them to evaluate the potential for adopting those technologies into their businesses.”

The Staffordshire Hoard, which is jointly owned by Birmingham and Stoke City Councils, is the largest collection of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork ever found, anywhere in the world.

The collection consists of more than 3,500 items, which have tentatively been dated to the late 6th and early 7th centuries. Since the discovery, research and conservation experts, including those from the Birmingham Museums Trust, have been working to learn more about the Kingdom of Mercian era artefacts and share their findings with a wider audience.

Cooper said the JIIC’s 3D printer of choice for the project had been supplied by Solidscape, due to the machines’ high precision and castability capabilities.

“If we need some casting prototype produced that we are 99.9% certain will work in the casting process, then we will go to the Solidscape machines,” he said.

One of the first pieces reproduced is a damaged cross and the finished replica is now being studied by experts at the university. The 3D printing process allows for unique hypothetical prototyping, which means the technology can extrapolate what the objects would have looked like when they were first created.

Pieta Greaves, of the Birmingham Museums Trust, said: “Being able to handle a replica artefact and examine the intricate designs up close enables visitors to experience the Staffordshire Hoard in a new way.

“It also critically widens access to the Hoard to include visitors with additional needs.”