Virtual models as a means of research in history of technique

A highly interdisciplinary group of specialists was recently involved in the development of new machinery models and contents for the Museo Leonardiano in Vinci. Virtual models have revealed themselves as extremely effective tools for initiating dialogue between history and technique; they allow quick bidirectional communication of complex concepts without the need for simplification. The study of machines, mechanical and technical processes involves the analysis and interpretation of drawings and verbal descriptions, in the light of all relevant historical traces. The complexity of the task requires the cooperation of skilled historians, literary men, engineers, physicists, architects and technicians. All of these specialists are accustomed to very particular languages, working methodologies and means of research; these differences result in an outcome that does not always manage to completely live up to expectations. Here virtual prototypes have not been a goal, but a starting point: with the start of the first model development, the research quickly speeded up. This paper discusses three main topics: 1) the results achieved with the introduction of the virtualization in a multidisciplinary workgroup aimed at the reconstruction of the dockyard of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. 2) Analysis and role of Leonardo da Vinci´s machines; 3) the simulation of the casting process of the huge bronze monument for Francesco Sforza, designed and accurately planned by Leonardo da Vinci and never executed. During the last 10 years, the study (still on-going) involved in-depth research of the historical documents, the definition of Leonardo´s technical glossary, an evolutionary study on Leonardo´s sketches led by TRIZ and creativity methods, physical simulations and mechanical reconstructions. Elements that have been continuously linked with each other by the 3D virtual models of Renaissance machinery, which have been used as sketchbooks on which both technicians and histo- ians recorded every step of their work, making it immediately available for the others in a common and easy to understand language. Virtual models have also been a precious means to verify design consistency: as for typical engineering activities, they were used to check the kinematical behavior of machines, their structural capabilities, and the opportunities for integration with other machines and components, revealing new and sometime surprising stories.