| For many structural engineers, working with artists and architects to turn complex design concepts into reality can often become a battle of feasibility over artistic intent. Not so for Price & Myers, whose dedicated 3D Engineering department uses SolidWorks to translate even the most intricate designs into buildable and beautiful structures.
In London’s Islington stands a 15 metre tall free-form stainless steel pair of angel wings. The structure comprises over 250 individual parts and each element is critical to its stability. “The artist who designed the angel wings came to us with an initial concept made of bent wire,” explains Tim Lucas, founding partner of Price & Myers 3D Engineering. “We worked with him to recreate this design in SolidWorks, which is ideal for rationalising complicated structures into individual buildable sections.”
SolidWorks enabled Lucas and his team to transform this initial 3D model into a series of over 250 2D parts. “In SolidWorks you can divide a model into sections very easily, since it automatically creates proper smooth surfaces, unlike other solutions which leave you with a triangular meshed surface which requires more work. The ability to rationalise a complex design in this way has proved invaluable for so many projects like the angel wings, where making something buildable needn’t compromise the complex beauty of the initial design.” |
