CPT International 04/2017

3-D-PRINTING
Matthias Kramer, voxeljet AG, Friedberg
3-D-printing helps to return
a silverback gorilla back to life
How the lifelike image of a gorilla is created using high-tech
There are several cases where modelers,
designers, artists and restorers come to
certain limits when creating a piece of
work. Particularly when it comes to the
creation of bigger, complex and detailed
pieces of art. Traditional methods
are proving not only to be more
time intensive but often times also
very cost intensive. Through a combination
of new 3-D printing technology
and traditional artwork, designers have
the possibility “to create efficiencies
and help artists render their concepts,
from start to finish”, says Rop Arps.
Rop Arps is the founder and CEO of
Form 3D Foundry, a full-service sculpting
studio and 3-D workshop, offering
scanning, sculpting, and 3-D printing
technologies for the creative industry.
One of the collaborating projects of
Form 3D Foundry was to immortalize a
silverback gorilla named Ivan, by creating
a memorial statue of him. The casting
pieces for the statue were printed
on a VX1000 3-D printer. The chronicle
of Ivan the gorilla is a story that has
involved many people in so many ways
to ensure he had a trouble-free life.
A Gorilla’s journey
Ivan was born in the Democratic Republic
of Congo in 1962 and after his
parents were killed by poachers, Ivan
was brought to the United States of
America. At the beginning, Ivan stayed
with the Johnston family, who owned
a pet store, where he got to know his
best and lifelong friend, Larry Johnston,
who as a teenager shared a home
with young Ivan for almost four years.
Weighing in at 60 pounds (approx.
28 kg), Ivan has grown big and strong,
it was decided that living in the home
of the Johnston family wasn’t suitable
anymore.
In 1967, Ivan was brought into an enclosure
at the B&I shopping center in
Tacoma, Washington. Ron Irwin, the
owner of the B&I store said “he was
like a kid, always watching people.
He loved to scare them. But there was
something more. When you looked in
Ivans ashes were incorporated in every
bronze piece
22 Casting Plant & Technology 4 / 2017