Culinary Concepts & the story of the Brass Crab

When a Crab, a 3D Scanner and a 3D Printer come together to create a replica brass receptacle for Culinary Concepts

The Project

CDG’s Replik8 Team received a request from Culinary Concepts about a project that would require turning a real crab into a newly manufactured replica product using 3D Scanning & Printing technology. Culinary Concepts plan was to release a new collection of summer homeware called “Octopus and Seashore” and they wanted to create a new crab container from a real crab.

Replik8 Team Solution: A step-by-step guide

1. 3D Scan the crab (dead or alive!)
2. Clean-up the Scan file & create and edit a CAD file, to replicate a food receptacle
3. 3D Print a replica crab using a 3d printed castable material, via 3D Systems MJP technology

Deep Dive!

#1. 3D Scanning the Crab

The first step was to find a solution to scan the crab in order to collect all the data required to convert the scan to a CAD file, in order to transform the real crab into a replica brass container. To maintain the exact shape of the crab the team visited Culinary Concept offices to 3D scan a frozen crab (as quick as possible, before defrosting). To complete this first step we used the FreeScan Combo+ IR and Laser 3D scanner with it’s different modes to help capture the grab quickly, using the 90 laser line mode, and to capture the fine detail using the single laser line mode.

#2. Creating a CAD file of the Crab

Step two, after scanning the crab, was to work with the 3D data collected to ensure the quality is maintained and to start the design side of creating a container from the scan file. To achieve this with ease we used the scan-to-CAD software Geomagic Design X to smooth the scanned surfaces but also to cut away the top of the crab to create a container.

#3. 3D Printing the New Crab-shaped Container

The final step for our team was to 3D print the crab ready to be cast in brass by Culinary Concepts. To accomplish the final task for our Replik8 Team we needed to use a ProJet 2500 Plus MJP 3D Printer a high resolution (16 microns) resin 3D printer from 3D Systems. The material we used was a castable resin called VisiJet M2P-CST Crystal™

MJP 3D Printed model in castable resin

4. The final results

Once 3D printed we shipped the model to Culinary Concepts for them to cast the crab in brass – ready to mass produce and market the new product.

Cast brass crab

Contact Replik8 Team

Web: https://cdg.uk.com/replik8/

Email: replik8@cdg.uk.com