A bespoke 3D-printed sculpture inspired by Manchester’s second city centre tram crossing was commissioned by Manchester Metropolitan University to mark the transport network’s expansion.
The sculpture, inspired by the winding and criss-crossing tracks of Metrolink, was buried in Transport for Greater Manchester’s (TfGM) time capsule today at the St Peter’s Square tram stop.
Sculptor Professor Keith Brown designed and developed the piece of fine art, named Timeform Intersection, initially through computer-aided design.
It is then painstakingly printed layer upon layer at the University’s 3D printing hub, after a series of test runs to iron out the fine detail contained within the sculpture.The time capsule is filled with items from various organisations as part of the second city centre crossing celebrations.
Prof Brown, from the University’s Manchester School of Art, is a renowned innovator in the use of 3D printing fine art sculptures.
He chose 3D printing for the time capsule as it represents Manchester Metropolitan’s innovation, culture and excellence in technology.
Prof Brown said: “The St Peter’s Square time capsule is to commemorate the opening of the second crossing of the Metrolink system in central Manchester, providing a hub which connects the entire network.The composition of the artwork is intended to function in a variety of ways, which allude to, and articulate, the notion of multiple crossings between entities of different size and shape.
“As well as alluding to the complexities of the Metrolink crossing, the sculptural composition also relates to the many inter-connections and collaborations between neighbouring institutions, as well as connecting the present to the future.”
The sculpture was created in Autodesk’s 3ds max, and was printed using state-of-the-art Fused Deposition 3D printing technology (FDM) on a Stratasys Fortus 360mc; manufactured in a non-biodegradable ABS plastic, it should survive unchanged into the future
