Plane Snow Globe

Plane Artwork Example

Plane Artwork Model Example

Case Study 3

The Brief:

After the successful completion of the large sculpture model plane that was taken from concept to being displayed in an art gallery in LA, the extremely satisfied client decided to commission the design and manufacture of a series of commemorative snow globes. At the centre of this product would be a replica of the plane. 100 globes were commissioned in total.

Snow Globe Fabrication

Snow Globe Fabrication

The Solution:

The client had a graphical representation of the snow globe from an artistic point of view. It was then the job of our design engineers to convert the ideas of the client to a 3D CAD model in our 3D CAD software SolidWorks. The first task was to scale the model plane down to the required size within SolidWorks, with all the detail from the full sized model being included; this would ensure the plane would be an accurate and detailed version of the larger model, as they would both be manufactured from the same CAD. The next process was to design the base which would be made from aluminium,with constant consideration for the manufacturing techniques during the design stage. The outside profile of the base was machined on our CNC lathes and then the underside was CNC milled to reduce the weight of the finished product. The base also had 4 feet that were machined on our CNC Lathes. A design was then laser cut out and stuck the top of the base to add more detail to the snow globe.

The plane was designed to sit on a central metal rod to secure the plane at the exact angle as the original model. With the plane being scaled and the hole cut out for the rod all done within Solid Works it was then manufactured by SLA rapid prototyping. This ensured the model would be accurate and manufactured in one piece. The globe was then made from clear acrylic to fit within a machined slot in the base, and was glued in place to form a water tight seal. With 2 plugs on the underside of the base, the process of filling the snow globes could begin, with a per-determined combination of distilled water, snow, washing up liquid and bleach added.

The snow globes were then individually packaged and securely boxed to allow for safe transport,as well as providing an aesthetically pleasing container for the customer. This project illustrates our skill at transferring concepts from one project to another, to achieve the customer’s synergistic goals.