To create the part, Sally and Vince (technicians at London Bronze Casting) 3D scanned Bill using a photogrammetry technique. The data was then manipulated in a variety of CAD programs to produce a final digital finish and look.
What I really like about the Green Man Project, is that it brings a digital aspect to a very analogue statue. It uses a traditional method of casting, but it’s using the very latest technology to create it.
James Reeves, Managing Director UKvoxeljet AG
The figure of Bill carries two cast impellers (a rotor used to increase the pressure and flow of a fluid), a fitting reminder of the products that were formerly made on the site.
The 3D model was digitally split into the casting sections and 3D printed in PMMA on an industrial 3D printer VX1000 PPB printer at our manufacturing facility in Milton Keynes, UK. PMMA is an acrylic material used in lost wax casting process. The PMMA print sections were then invested in a ceramic shell and cast in bronze.
The form itself was printed and then processed at London Bronze Casting, a foundry focused on research, innovation and craft to produce the final statue standing 2.2m tall and weighing 200kg.
After the assembly, welding & metalwork, a green patina was applied to transform the brown tone of the raw cast into a vivid Verdigris, a colour that all foundry workers turn by the end of a working day. Bill is the first ever PMMA-cast public sculpture in the UK.
It’s a great moment for foundry in the art industry and design world, because artists and designers are quite curious about new technologies and they’re using computer aided designs and sculpting software more than ever before. Artists can collect and scan 3D objects and manipulate them like no other material without limits. voxeljet are very diligent and have a lot of time for us, just that noticing of what we need from the casting and the detail within all the projects has resulted in a great collaboration.
Tom Winstanley, DirectorLondon Bronze Casting
3D printed casting model of a 2 meter large sculpture
Using 3D printing, we create a 2.2 meter high plastic investment casting model cast in bronze by the London Casting Company
Further Case Studies
Taking 3D printing to the next level for architects and element builders
Binder Jetting" 3D printing is ideal for large-format and highly complex architectural projects. 3D printing for the entire BIM process chain.
The design of living spaces using 3D printing
3D printing has become an integral part of architecture.
Restoration using 3D printing
For fifteen years the team from the Egyptian Museum in Berlin dug in the Sudanese desert and restored historically valuable items.
Art room from the 3D printer
Architects have already been using 3D printing technology for creating true-to-scale models for a number of years.
3D printing for product and interior designers
3D printed design objects open up new possibilities for product designers, interior designers and artists to showcase their work and design solutions.
3D printed architectural models for bronze casting
The visually impaired can touch and feel the bronze models to obtain a detailed impression of the shapes and surfaces of the buildings.
Prototyping for the automotive industry
A somewhat unusual project underscores the capabilities of additive manufacturing technology even beyond its classic areas of application.
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3D Printing Solutions
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