“I started designing the piece and then brought it to T3DMC for scanning… I had hoped to use the scan data to laser cut the box section, but the angles were too complex and nobody had a machine that was able to cut them. Neal had some ideas about how we could fabricate the piece together and jumped straight in.”

Side view of Jacob Chandler's The Final Furlong Sculpture in steel & bronze | T3DMC

Jacob Chandler is an artist that needs no introduction here in the UK. His work focuses on dramatic points of action, be it physical or mental. Jacob’s sculptures have been exhibited in capital cities across the globe and have been highly commended by Royal societies.

Recently, Jacob received a challenging commission from a private client who wanted a statement piece comprising a horse and jockey to adorn their formal gardens.

The concept of the sculpture, incorporating bronze and steel, was going to be quite sizable at 3 metres tall and 3.5 metres long. Jacob was uncertain about how to manufacture it, so he quickly got in touch with the team at T3DMC with whom he had worked on previous sculptures to discuss the challenge.

The Design Process Reimagined

“As with all of my pieces I am trying to capture movement at its most dynamic point. If I can capture the horse’s form in its fullest, that will have the power that I am trying to create despite the lack of mass. The choice of materials has played an important role in this work – I imagined the horse would almost visually disappear and we’d have a floating form of the jockey. I started designing the piece and then brought the model to T3DMC for scanning,” says Jacob.

“I had hoped I could go from the scan to a box section laser cutter, but the angles were too complex and nobody had a machine that was able to cut them.  Neal had some ideas about how we could fabricate the piece together and jumped straight in”.

Artist Jacob Chandler and The Final Furlong Sculpture production model | T3DMC
Artist Jacob Chandler often creates initial models to form crisp-edged, smooth-faced and multi-faceted sculptures.

After discussing the requirements of the sculpture fabrication with Jacob, Neal Taylor, Technical Director at T3DMC, found a solution.

3D scanning of Jacob Chandler's The Final Furlong Sculpture in steel & bronze | T3DMC

“Because each part of the horse was made from different stainless steel bars that had to come together seamlessly, we knew that we had to weld them at specific angles. We looked at the 3D design and we marked the angles on the steel bar, after which they were individually cut. We carefully put them in a framework with a grid reference created from the 3D data and then positioned them in the right place using clamps,” comments Neal.

Front view of Jacob Chandler's The Final Furlong Sculpture in steel & bronze | T3DMC

Project Support beyond 3D Scanning

The T3DMC team built as many parts inhouse as possible, employing two types of welding – MIG and TIG welding with stainless steel wires – to achieve the desired results. After fusing all the components together, the sculpture was cleaned down by filing the joints to create a smooth, flowing aspect.

“The welding itself wasn’t difficult, but the cleaning part was, as the jockey element is bronze and the horse is stainless steel,” adds Neal.

“Working with two different types of metal was challenging. What’s more, we had to assemble everything together so we came up with a three-pin solution for attaching the jockey to the horse. This in itself had to be almost invisible so that the jockey looks like he is floating above the horse – and I think we achieved that. Our idea was to have one pin on the underside of each foot and another one on the jockey’s chest and Jacob was very pleased with it!”

Jacob Chandler's The Final Furlong Sculpture in steel & bronze | T3DMC

T3DMC’s team of engineers were able to assemble the jockey together with the horse and help move the project along to its final stages.

The sculpture, titled The Final Furlong,  is now installed at the client’s property, where it stands majestically within its bucolic setting.

Rear view of Jacob Chandler's The Final Furlong Sculpture in steel & bronze | T3DMC
Jacob Chandler's The Final Furlong Sculpture in steel & bronze | T3DMC

Whilst this was not a typical project for T3DMC, it’s a great example of how the team can utilise their extensive 3D engineering and fabrication experience to deliver an excellent result. Taking this complex design and creating the final piece through the use of 3D scanning and then developing the fabrication processes using the base data, combined with the team’s experience, showcases the T3DMC team’s ability to deliver engineering solutions for even the most challenging projects.

If you have a project where you need some 3D scan data or would like to tap into the experience of our friendly and approachable team, please get in touch with us on 01746 762251 to discuss your requirements or drop us a note to info@t3dmc.com.

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