WOBURN, Mass. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — May 17, 2010 — SensAble Technologies announced that its FreeForm® 3D modeling solution was behind the first-ever exhibition on the convergence of art and technology at the annual Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) RAPID Conference and Exposition (SME RAPID 2010) being held this week in Anaheim. Led by SculptCAD, a provider of sculptural/CAD design and reverse engineering products and services, fourteen artists made the leap from the physical medium to the digital realm using FreeForm Modeling’s sculptural design capabilities. These impressive works range from a feathered French horn to a forest-scape, and were the artists’ first creations on an all-digital system.

Shattering longstanding perceptions that fine art can only be produced by hand, the SculptCAD Rapid Artists Project demonstrates the speed and creative freedom made possible with today’s advanced digital design technologies.

“I love to carve in Italian marble, but after working in FreeForm, I’m definitely a convert,” said Heather Ezell, whose bronze “A New Leaf” depicts a pile of scattered leaves, some shiny, some dull. “It would have taken me at least two months to carve just one leaf, versus about 12 hours in FreeForm. The folds and curves in the stem of the leaf would take me forever in marble, but they were a snap to create in the software. And breaking each leaf into pieces, and applying textures, would have been nearly impossible in marble.”

“I loved this piece so much that I initially hesitated to sell it, then I realized – because it’s digital, if it sells, I can just print another!”

Members of the SculptCAD Rapid Artists project include sculptors, painters, and installation artists who work in materials ranging from marble to rubber to wood.