3D printing preserves Revolutionary War artifacts from World Trade Center site

In a collaboration aimed at safeguarding delicate historical items, the New York State Museum has teamed up with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Utilizing cutting-edge digital fabrication methods, RPI's 3D Scanning and Printing Lab has produced replicas of two artifacts unearthed from a Revolutionary War-era gunboat located beneath the World Trade Center site: an iron hearth ring and a four-pound cannonball. These replicas serve to enhance research, educational initiatives, and exhibitions, while also maintaining precise documentation of the original items.