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Case study / Historical preservation

Scanning a Tower Clock Ornament for Boyd Clocks

Boyd Clocks restored a tower clock for the City of Clearwater, Florida. We scanned one of its bronze ornaments in full color and printed a replica, so Boyd could work out the patina on a copy and not on the original.

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At a glance

The project in short

  • Client
    Boyd Clocks, a clock restorer in Tampa, FL
  • Project
    Restoration of a tower clock for the City of Clearwater, Florida
  • Part
    An ornate bronze ornament, 109.6 mm tall, with a verdigris (aged green) surface
  • Scanner
    Artec Spider, full color
  • Turnaround
    A few days, done at our shop
  • What we made
    A full-color 3D scan and a 3D printed replica
The challenge

Get the patina right without touching the original

Boyd Clocks restores clocks. The City of Clearwater's tower clock came to them with a bronze ornament that had gone green with age. A scan of a part like this has to capture the color as well as the shape.

Boyd needed to work out the patina. A printed copy gave them something to work on besides the original bronze.

What we did

Scan it, keep the color, print a copy

  1. ScanWe scanned the ornament at our shop with our Artec Spider, which does not touch the part. It stands 109.6 mm tall.
  2. Record the colorThe scan is full color, so it records the verdigris surface along with the shape.
  3. Print a replicaWe 3D printed a replica from the scan. Boyd used it to work out the patina.
Full-color 3D scan of the Boyd Clocks bronze ornament on a grid, labeled 109.6 mm
Boyd Clocks ornament / Artec Spider / full color
The result

A copy to practice on

The replica helped. Boyd worked out the patina on the copy and went on to finish the restoration. The clock work was Boyd's. Our part was the scan and the replica.

The same approach works on other pieces. Scan the original once, then do the testing on copies. If you restore objects and have a part like this, tell us about it.

A black 3D printed replica of a bronze clock ornament beside the green verdigris bronze ornament
A 3D printed replica (left, black) next to the green bronze ornament (right).
The Clearwater tower clock before restoration, with green stained glass faces resting on an oxidized copper base in a workshop
The Clearwater tower clock before restoration.

Have a part you need to work from?

Tell us about it and we will say how we would scan it and what we could print.

Get a Quote or call (813) 803-4973