CNC Machining and Rapid Prototyping a Famous Chess Set

This case involved a series of Greek and Roman antiquities that were part of a collection belonging to Sigmund Freud. The task to re-produce these valuable pieces was complicated by the clients insistence that the pieces could not leave the museum to undergo reverse engineering. The solution was to 3D laser scan the pieces in-situe and with the data captured generate the 3D data required to manufacture a copy of the pieces. The clients requirement was to produce a chess set where the “white” pieces were cast in glass and the “black” pieces were made to be a faithful copy of the original. Production in glass proved to be problematic but we found that CNC machining in clear acrylic and polishing created a stunning result which was more than acceptable to the client. We produced the “black” pieces as SLA rapid prototype parts once we had converted the 3D scan data to STL format (stereo lithography file). These were produced open ended at the base so that we could fill with a quick cast resin to give the pieces weight. Finally an artist was employed to finish the pieces to look identical to the originals.

Solid acrylic CNC machining and polishing		SLA rapid prototype pieces