Lunch with the Libraries: 3D Printing in Book Conservation

Sponsored by the Office of Alumni Relations Lifelong Learning, the Sheridan Libraries & University Museums, and the Friends of the Johns Hopkins University Libraries

Additive manufacturing or 3D printing creates objects by piling up, one at a time, very thin layers of material (in the order of a fraction of a millimeter).  A software translates the 3D model created by the designer into a code that guides the movement of the extruding machine. Although the technique has been around for decades, it is rarely seen in a book conservation lab.

The team in our Department of Conservation and Preservation has been experimenting with and using this fabrication method for the last few years. This presentation will briefly describe what ‘3D Printing’ is, the hardware and workflow required, and what its strengths, weaknesses, and potential are. Finally, a series of 3D printed objects designed and produced in our lab will be presented: from unobtrusive mounts for artifacts in the current Women of the Book exhibit at the George Peabody Library to prototypes of folding book cradles for special collection reading rooms.

To learn more about the Sheridan Libraries and how to join the Friends of the Johns Hopkins University Libraries, visit these websites:

https://www.library.jhu.edu 
https://www.library.jhu.edu/give/friends-of-the-libraries/

 

A zoom link will be sent to all registrants ahead of the webinar.