The craft of stonemasonry, focused on carving stone with a chisel and mallet, finds an ally in 3D technology for complex jobs. Three-dimensional scanning allows capturing models of original pieces or blueprints, and 3D printing is used to create precise carving guides, reducing errors and wasted material.
Scanning, modeling, and guides for flawless carving 🧱
A practical example: restoring a broken cornice. The original piece is scanned with a scanner like the Einscan Pro HD, the missing part is modeled in Rhino 3D or Blender, and a silicone or PLA filament guide is printed with a Creality Ender 3 printer. The stonemason places this guide on the block and carves following the contour, avoiding eyeballing measurements and saving hours of work.
The chisel doesn't retire, it just gets a firmware update ⚒️
That the stonemason uses 3D technology doesn't mean the stone dust disappears from the workshop. The scanner can fail if the piece is very dirty, and the printer sometimes decides to print a replica of a cloud instead of the cornice. But in the end, the craftsman still has the last word... although now he has to plug in the computer before picking up the hammer.