EcoMarble: Development of advanced tools for the production of artworks using marble industrial wastes.

EcoMarble is a project co-funded by the European Commission in the frame of Competitive and Sustainable Growth thematic programme

Contract No: G1RD-CT-1999-00041

Start Date: 01-Jan-2000

Duration: 33 months

 

EcoMarble proposed an intelligent exploitation of secondary products generated from industrial marble processing such as marble powder. Wastes from marble quarries were treated in secondary processes to form powder material that is utilized in road or building industry. However there was always a remainder which forms leftovers with serious environmental impacts.

 

Project’s goal was to introduce the exploitation of marble powder to the industry of art products and reproductions in order to produce true marble objects in industrial scale. A new methodology and tools were developed in order to absorb marble waste production and create true marble reproductions of historical objects or modern design products that carry along cultural identities. EcoMarble integrated several technologies in order to cover all stages from a computer-based design to the intelligent prototyping and manufacturing. The development and optimization of those technologies led to the formulation of a complete solution for the industry of artworks and reproductions, while at the same time stimulated a large variety of similar spin-off applications.