Article by Mr. Luke Hu from Sino Sculpture Group Ltd
PHOTO: 71meters tall(20-story Building) Great Bronze Buddha Statue in Installing by Sino in Bangkok, Thailand.
Sino Sculpture foundry is one of the largest foundries in China, which have been commissioned by domestic and abroad famous temples and clients to build large bronze Buddha Statues within 20 years.
Two crafts to make Bronze Buddha Statue
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1. Casting
Using bronze to make Buddha Statue has a long history after the born of copper alloy. The traditional way is casting, which is a method to melt the bronze and pour it into a model and cooling to form the shape of the Buddha statue.
VIDEO: Bronze Buddha Statue, Singapore Ksitigarbha Statue with Gold leaf.
The main process for casting bronze Buddha Statue sculpture.
a, Sculpting an original Buddha Statue mold, by clay plasticine or wax, etc.
b, Fiberglass mold
c, Wax mold
d, Casting in Bronze
e, Chasing
f, Patina, gold leaf, painting, etc.
PHOTO: bronze Buddha Statue by casting.
Advantages of casting
Casting is the most traditional craft to make a bronze Buddha Statue in such a long history. The craft is mature and has large numbers of senior artisans with rich experiences. The casting bronze panel's thickness is 5mm-8mm or more, which has a strong capacity for structural support to reduce the internal steel structure. High-quality casting bronze Buddha statues can last hundreds or even thousands of years in the natural environment.
2. Hand Forging
and nowadays, another method called forging becomes more popular for most large-scale Buddha Statue fabrication. Comparing the traditional casting process, the hand forging craft has more advantages.
PHOTO: Sino forger is hand forging bronze panels to make a bronze Buddha Statue
Main steps for hand forging process as,
a, Create the original mold with soft material such as clay, plasticine or wax, etc.
b, Enlargement by steel slicing structure & partial 1:1 model(head, hands…)
c, Hand forging in bronze plates.
d, Welding, grinding, and polishing.
e, finishing in patina, gold leaf, painting, etc.
PHOTO: Optimization of clay mold of bronze Buddha statue.
Hand-forged, welded, polished and surface-treated to a confirmed model, the statue of the Buddha is beautiful, magnificent, pageantry, and compassionate. Superb forging technology, the Buddha's complex clothing decorative texture, forging very exquisite, lifelike.
PHOTOS: hand forging bronze Buddha statue process
Hand forging craft's advantages
a, Lower fabrication cost than casting.
b, Short period of fabrication
c, Lightweight
d, Easy installation
e, No sand holes
f, Even thickness of the whole Buddha Statue panels.
g, Good at hand the welding line invisible.
h, Most huge Buddha statues use forging the way to make in China.
i, The life span is the same as casting
VIDEO: A large handcrafted bronze statue fabricated by Sino Sculpture
Differences between concrete Buddha Statue & bronze
Concrete sculpture, as the name suggests, is a sculpture made of concrete or cement as the main raw material. The concrete sculpture is also known as cement sculpture, is a material extension of the sculpture form, concrete sculpture has been widely used in a variety of outdoor, squares, parks, these places, and other large sculpture construction.
So what are the advantages of concrete sculpture, and what are the disadvantages of concrete sculpture, we have figured it as below,
The advantages of concrete sculpture.
a. concrete sculpture can resist the wind and the sun, long-term humidity and water immersion, and so on a variety of long-term harsh environments.
b. The cost of concrete sculpture is relatively low, the material is easy to obtain.
c. The strong insulation of cement sculpture, as a building material concrete is an excellent insulating material, high frequency can still protect good dielectric properties.
The disadvantages of concrete sculpture.
a. The fine degree is not as fine as other metal craft materials, not suitable for the production of indoor ornaments.
b. Very bulky and difficult to install. The same volume of cement products as other materials products several times more weight. Bulky and heavy, not easy for transportation and installation.
c. If the concrete mortar ratio is not appropriate, the concrete Buddha Statue's surface is easy to crack, if spray painting is finished, it will be easy to fall off or lose color in a short period.
The concrete Buddha statue in the image below shows visible cracks in the shoulders and thighs.
PHOTO: a Thai concrete Buddha Statue is cracking visibly.
The color pealed off from a concrete Buddha statue in Chiang saen district, northern Thailand
PHOTO: Thai concrete Buddha Statue color peeled off, Big golden Buddha statue with Lanna style located at Golden triangle
Under the influence of the natural environment for many years, the concrete Buddha statue suffered from paint loss, damage, and fragmentation. In the later stage, the repair project was huge, the procedure was complicated and the cost was high.
PHOTO: Raise money to repair the concrete Buddha statue
Big golden Buddha statue with Lanna style located at Golden triangle the area where the borders of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet at Mekong rivers. Chiang Rai province of Thailand.
2. Bronze Buddha Statue
Main Advantages of bronze Buddha Statues
a, Long lifetime, more than 500 years
b, Overall lightweight, reduce the use of steel structure
c, The main steel structure is designed and calculated by the Chinese Design Institute, and the mechanical analysis. Earthquake resistance, wind resistance level in line with national standards.
d, Bronze has good ductility, can be adjusted, and is relatively easy to install
e, Welding joint, no weld seam after grinding and never crack
f, Head, hands, legs, clothing, and other 1:1 model making, easy to adjust and modify the bronze panel modeling
g, Mature computer 3D scanning, and modeling technology
h, PPG paint, a famous brand in the United States, has a life span of 20 years. After the surface paint is diluted, it will gradually produce patina and other antique colors, increasing the historical beauty of Buddha statues.
In the case of forging the bronze Buddha statue from the perspective of artistic beauty, large-scale sculpture needs to be tall and straight to highlight the three-dimensional sense. So it's suitable for making large outdoor Buddha sculptures in bronze.
PHOTOS: forging bronze Buddha statue construction
The imported handheld 3D scanner is scanning the small clay mold. Through the software, the electronic 3D model data can be directly generated for the adjustment and optimization of model modeling and data amplification in the future. And the design and calculation of the internal main steel structure.
PHOTOS: 3D Scanning and Modeling of bronze Buddha statue
According to the 3D model, 3D modeling technology, Rhino、UG、AUTOCAD, and other software are used to construct the internal main steel structure, and the structure is carried out according to the geological prospecting characteristics of the site installation. Design, calculation, and mechanical analysis, and issue the construction drawings signed and sealed by Chinese Design Institute, and then the construction according to the drawings to ensure the quality of the project.
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