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Materialise is a well-known RP software supplier and service bureau organization. The company has also developed a very large capacity stereolithography capability for in-house use. The Mammoth II machine has a build volume of 85 X 24 X 20 inches (2150 X 620 X 500mm). An entire automobile dashboard can be fabricated as a single unit, and the machine lends itself to some interesting applications. The making of this Kouros statue with a length of nearly 6 feet was part of the ECO-marble project in 2003. The project concerned the reproduction of sculptures. Other participants were GEO-Analysis who performed the scanning, the Focke Museum in Bremen, The Fitzwilliam Museum of Archeology of Cambridge and the Archaeological Receipts Fund in Athens. The aim was to make a life size replica of the Kouros, one of the distinctive products of the Archaic era that ran from about 650 to 500 BC. Kouros sculptures were used to mark graves or stood near temples as offerings to the gods. They were always athletic male nudes standing in a frontal pose, the left foot slightly forward, arms held close to the sides with hands clenched. Kouroi were not portraits, but a general representation of youth and strength. Preparation time for the scanned data took one day and the statue was built with a layer thickness of 0.15 mm over the course of about 100 hours. The wall thickness is 5 mm and the weight of the statue after removing the supports is about 25 lbs.     Statue after 24 and 86 hours of building time. (All pictures courtesy of Materialise NV.) For more info Contact: Materialise NV Technologielaan 15 3001 Leuven, Belgium +32 (16) 39 66 11 software@materialise.be Raising the Kouros out of the machine with the support structure shown still attached.