Chinese Goverment Uses 3D Printing to Restore Old Buddist Scupture

We are seeing more and more uses for 3d scanning and printing tech. One of these uses has been the restoration and preservation of old cultural relics. The Chinese government has been quietly using the technology to 3d scan an old Buddhist sculpture from the Southern Song Dynasty called Qianshou Guanyin. More details can be found here: http://3dprint.com/3164/china-qiansh...3d-print-scan/

The Chinese first 3d printed a 1:3 proportion replica. From there they used that replica as a guide to restore the piece via 3D printing as well. Check out the 3D printed model of the sculpture below. The new technology has saved them a tremendous amount of time and money as compared to traditional casting and molding methods they could have used instead.

http://3dprint.com/wp-content/upload...-2-300x266.jpg

Very cool article. Imagine the Colosseum being restored with 3d printing.