Cairns bowl

Mere days after we posted about the woodFill bird house we received a message from Mark Newton from Orkney3D regarding the print he made with woodFill. It took some time (sorry, Mark), but we're finally sharing the Cairns bowl he printed with woodFill.

Orkney3D, owned by Mark Newton, is based in West Mainland on the Scottish Island of Orkney off the North coast of Scotland and combines 3D printing with archeology. A great combination in our book!

As Mark writes on the site: "We were one of the early creators of 3D physical models of a live archaeology site – The famous Ness of Brodgar. Our first season was spent with trials and then producing a 1 metre square model of the main trench P of the dig. A total print time of 14 days meant that this was quite a task! Most of our models are used for educational purposes and some are sold to help raise money for the dig.

You can do so by visiting their Etsy shop. The link is on the bottom of this blog.

All images by Mark Newton / Orkney3D. Used with permission

The Cairns bowl is based on an Iron Age wooden bowl that was found at the Cairns dig in South Ronaldsay, Orkney. Orkney3D received the laser scan data of the bowl of the site director of the dig. You can find more information about the dig here.

The Bowl was removed with the earth around it and was sent for conservation. The original item is too fragile even after conservation for much handling and so represented a great subject for recreating on a 3D printer. 

The full size version takes nearly seven days to print. Printer of choice for Orkney3D is the Raise 3D printer.

As for post-processing, Mark explains: "I finished the print off by applying a wood stain which the filament takes very well, this gave a bit extra texture to the bowl. It is a great filament, you just have to be careful when printing because of it’s low glass point so keep temperatures down and I switched of retraction. After tidying up I removed last strand with hot air gun but first time the bowl distorted with the heat from the gun, so go careful!"

Pieces like this belong in a museum, but with the power of 3D printing and the internet you can have one in your home. Head over to Orkney3D's Etsy shop and know that part of the proceeds are destined to support the Cairns dig.

woodFill was colorFabb's first special filament and still very popular, even more than 7 years after its launch. We ship woodFill daily, worldwide and from stock.