this is amazing stuff… what would it cost someone if they wanted to have a sculpture made in iron of a zbrush model do you think?
I’m sooooooo jealous; I love Scott Musgrove and the croc yuo’ve built is absolutely amazing!
You really do have the best job!!!
Hi again,
Here are some shots of the croc in situ at Wildlife World at Darling harbour in Sydney. Not much room to fit it all in.
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awesome work john,
thanks for posting those,
the process and the final result are both brilliant.
cheers
this is really really cool. the only thing i would say is i wish you guys would have put a little bit more more time into the painting. the alligator itself looks awsome but i think the paint work looks a tad bit bland. like its too perfect almost.
not trying to take away from this great piece. just givin my two cents.
great stuff though. 5 stars in my book.
Very cool, must be a ton of fun and gratification to take something digital to real like that.
Dragotron, I can’t tell you much about iron casting (totally different animal than bronze). The cost of almost any casting would be directly related to the size of the finished piece and the complexity of the surface. Of course, you would need to get the geometry out of the computer ( 3D Print for small work, CNC Carve for large work), once again the cost would be reliant on size. For the work we do at my shop, the pipeline is:
CNC/ Assemble (foam w/ armature)
Clay-up (for details too high-def for CNC)
Mold (polyurethane or silicon)
Wax Print (out of rubber mold)
Investment (ceramic shell on wax print)
Metal pour (inside ceramic shell after wax is burnt out)
Assembly, Metal Chasing (putting metal parts back together and repairing)
Patina (color)
There are new metal 3D printers available now, don’t know cost but I do know there are size limitations.
Metal sculpture costs? Well, just for the casting, assembly and patina:
12 to 18 in. High–3-$500
5 gal bucket size–8-$1,200
lifesized human fig.–7-$13K
VW bug size–30-$50K
Of course way approximate.
Here are a couple of shots of a newly installed robotic arm for CNC work. A little more headache to carve CAM files, but we should be able to get it running soon. I think I will ZBrush a model of itself to test it…
www.metalphysic.com
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wow that looks very cool and expensive.:D:D:D
Don’t believe him… He wont carve a thing! I know what he bought it for:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoA-m5iHG9s
Lemo
:lol: :lol: :lol:
Great new updates!!! Thanks for takin’ the time to post 
! Looking forward to see some testspins of the new machine .
nice one John
Thats my friend, is some serious printing!
I have an eva head I want to pring real size, can I borrow your machine?!:lol:
Everything in here is amazing. Its great to see some real life sculpts. The crock is so awesome colored!
arbayne, it’s always exciting to get a new piece of gear. Especially a well built unit such as the ‘bot’. It’s break in period can also be very…exciting. 
I finally got the last of the important bits for my Zbrush to wood machine.
Nice croc John.
Hope you guys keep posting new stuff, it’s inspirational.
[[attach=177374]HSD-8.2Hp.jpg[/attach]]
If it ain’t got more than 3 axis…you’re just cutting ply. 
3Point14, 3, 4, 5 axis? Wood carving from ZBrush files is something I am going to try very soon. As far as an exciting “break in period”, one of the first movements I made with the Kuka was through the wall (didn’t even flinch, missed stud by “” that much). Quite a dangerous machine (moves faster than you would think). Post pics of your ZB to wood machine!
“one of the first movements I made with the Kuka was through the wall”
If you listen carefully… it can say ‘Wooosshhhhhhh’.
Quite a few years ago I programmed a pair of robot arms to shoot a tennis ball back and force for the Hanover Industrial Fair in Germany. That was a lot of fun. The arms served the ball to themselves… Not to each other. Was quite a spectacle. I used the teach mode to get them to do it. So no real ‘programming’ was involved.
best of luck and don’t let the KuKa steal your lunch!
Lemo
@3Point14
I got the same spindle. Let it warm up at min rpm for 5-7 minutes before loading it!!! Did you get a VFD yet for it? I got some left form a larger project which never happened. %^$@^%@#@ economy.
@ arbayne, it is 4 axis. Will post pix when more complete.
@ lemonnado, I am also building a 3 axis foam carving unit for a friend. Maybe you have some spare parts I can use, depending on freight costs.
I’ve just landed on this thread - really cool stuff. I work as a Graphic Design lecturer in West Wales UK. We are fortunate enough to be one of the only colleges in the UK to work with iron casting (as well as bronze). Our Sculpture department is about to hold an international iron pouring convention in July in Kidwelly, West Wales. (check it out here: http://www.internationalfe10.com/ )
I have been using ZBrush for just over a year now, and am currently working with a colleague of mine (Sinzalot - for those who might know his work) to cast direct to iron.
Has anyone out there done this, and if so - what material do you 3D print in for direct burnout?
We have done one test using an ABS plastic 3D print, where we tried a direct burnout using bronze, but it hardly touched the plastic!!
If anyone has any tips or tricks, or advice, I’d love to hear from you.
Otherwise I’ll keep you informed…