Polyethylene dinosaur hits the road
Canadian Plastics
After 77 million years, a mummified dinosaur is slated to go on tour this year for display at museums throughout the U. S., thanks in part to multifunctional and hybrid resins from Huntsman Advanced M...
After 77 million years, a mummified dinosaur is slated to go on tour this year for display at museums throughout the U. S., thanks in part to multifunctional and hybrid resins from Huntsman Advanced Materials.
The exhibit is a high-quality stereolithography model of a rare 22-foot-long fossil of a mummified duck-billed dinosaur that was unearthed in Montana and dubbed “Leonardo”. Consisting of 30 different polymer blocks, the model was created from data produced by a white light scan of the dinosaur, accurate to 0.25 mm, and includes intricate details such as skin, scales, muscle and foot pads.
Among the materials used for the model are Huntman’s RenShape SL 7510 multifunctional resin and RenShape SL 7800 and SL 7810 hybrid ABS-like photopolymers. According to Huntsman, the SL resins allow for replication of intricate fossil details as small as a grain of sand. Additionally, the amber-coloured SL 7800 and white SL 7810 resins reduced processing time with good green strength.
When assembled, the painted polyurethane dinosaur will be virtually indistinguishable from the mummified Leonardo fossil, and will be tough enough to withstand the rigours of shipping and handling during the multi-location tour. Huntsman Advanced Materials (The Woodlands, Tex.); www.huntsman.com; 888-564-9318
