{"id":42749,"date":"2025-12-16T08:27:49","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T07:27:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.westcam-group.com\/news\/on-the-trail-of-da-vinci-with-3d-scanning\/"},"modified":"2025-12-22T11:03:21","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T10:03:21","slug":"on-the-trail-of-da-vinci-with-3d-scanning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.westcam-group.com\/en\/news\/on-the-trail-of-da-vinci-with-3d-scanning\/","title":{"rendered":"On the trail of da Vinci with 3D scanning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How state-of-the-art 3D scanning technology reveals new secrets from the da Vinci globe<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

A palm-sized object, over 500 years old, made from two ostrich eggshells – and yet at the center of the latest high-tech research: the da Vinci globe<\/strong> from 1504 has been digitized for the first time worldwide using high-precision 3D scanning technology. This was made possible by our industrial 3D Metrology (ZEISS ScanBox). An exciting project that has also attracted media attention. <\/p>\n\n

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The challenge<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

How do you research an object that is unique, extremely fragile and of inestimable historical value? The da Vinci globe from 1504 has a diameter of 11,2<\/strong> cm tall and measures 1:80.000.000 and was made from two ostrich eggshells. Every touch involves risks, classical photography reaches its physical limits and many details remain hidden from the naked eye. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The central challenge was therefore: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can the finest engravings, surface structures and manufacturing features be made visible without endangering the cultural object?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The da Vinci globe from 1504<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The da Vinci globe is the oldest globe in the world where the New World (Mundus Novus) is shown for the first time. Its extraordinary choice of materials, precise cartography and artistic engravings have fascinated historians and globe researchers for decades. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But many questions remained unanswered: How precise are the continent lines? What traces of manufacture can be detected? And how were two fragile ostrich eggshells joined together so precisely over 500 years ago? <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Why traditional methods are not enough<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Photographs can depict shapes – but not haptics. They show surfaces, but no depth information. This two-dimensional view is not sufficient, especially for an object with micrometer-sized engravings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“A photo cannot depict the haptic structure of an object – a 3D scan can.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A non-contact<\/strong>, non-destructive<\/strong> and extremely precise<\/strong> approach was therefore needed to answer the unanswered questions.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Industrial 3D Metrology for a unique historical piece<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

WESTCAM used state-of-the-art optical 3D Metrology for this extraordinary task – technology that is usually used in industrial quality inspection:<\/p>\n\n\n\n