It may not be death by a guillotine, but the Queen’s Head rock formation at Yehliu Geopark (Wanli, Taiwan) is destined for decapitation. The iconic sandstone structure’s neck circumference has decreased from 148 to 136 cm over the last two years, falling victim to natural erosion and tourist touch. Experts say it’s only five to 10 years before it completely snaps. So Ri-Cung Model Co., specialists in the mock-up and model industry, has developed a way to prolong the life of the symbolic royal highness by creating a replica.

Using a FARO Photon 120 laser scanner, the Queen’s Head was converted to point cloud data. The orange model shows surface data after conversion to a triangular mesh stereolithography (STL) file.

The STL file was then converted to a surface model using Vero’s VISI Modeling. The modeling software offers the flexibility to construct, edit or repair complex 3D designs. In this case, the CAD model was separated into 32 sections and manufacturing toolpaths were created using VISI Machining.

The structure was machined from expandable polystyrene (EPS) and hand sculpted for reassembly. EPS properties include low weight, high compressive strength and resistance to moisture--ideal material for the Queen’s Head replica.