Faraday Bust

Here a bust of Michael Faraday was scanned, and the 3D CAD model created. There was now a choice- Do we print the head as a solid bust or print it hollow? On environmental grounds we would use less material making it hollow and we would also use less energy in the making. From a lean manufacturing point of view, manufacturing the bust as hollow reduces the leadtime in production and resulted in a far lighter bust.

Faraday was printed in stainless steel 316L by selective laser melting additive manufacturing (AM). The bust was orientated to preserve the facial features during the build.

The 3D CAD modelling is one of many projects by Croft Additive Manufacturing, aiming to explore the potentials of the AM technology.