Abstract
The art of sculpting is related to the processing of brittle materials, such as granite, marble, and stone, and is implemented using percussive hand tools or rotational roughing tools. The outcome of percussion carving is still directly related to the technique, experience, and capacity of the sculptor. Any attempt to automate the art of sculpturing is exhausted in the subtraction method of brittle materials using a rotating tool. In the process of percussion carving, there is no equivalent expertise. In this work, we present the design, manufacturing (3D printing and CNC machining), and use of a smart, percussion carving tool, either manually by the hand of a sculptor, adjusted in a percussive pneumatic hammer, or guided by a digitally driven machine. The scope is to measure and record the technological variables and sizes that describe and document the carving process through the sensors and electronic devices that the smart tool incorporates, the development and programming of which was implemented for the purposes of this work. The smart carving tool was meticulously tested in various carving stones and stressing scenarios to test the functionality and efficacy of the tool. All the tests were successfully implemented according to the specifications set.
Highlights
The art of percussion carving has remained unchanged over the past decades
The results indicate that the smart percussion carving tool assembly can withstand high mechanical loading without deformations, while the electronic devices within remain active and functional
Its design has been patented as there is no other smart carving tool capable of processing stones via traditional percussion sculpturing
Summary
The art of percussion carving has remained unchanged over the past decades. The sculptor, with simple hand tools (chisel and hammer), moves with the whole body the chisel in various gradients and orientations, while exercising the flat appreciation (empirical) of optimal pressure on the tool to achieve the artistic result with the selected stone material. Stonework is a longstanding tradition encompassing a multitude of techniques for stereotomy, stone dressing, and finishing [1,2]. While almost all manufacturing processes are mathematically modeled and fully supported by automated numerical control machines, the art of percussion carving remains empirical and hand driven. Current digital carving technology is widely applied in machine processing and die making and produces preferable economic benefits. Its functions are limited to digital art-carving aspects [5]
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