Introduction to Stainless Steel Sculpture:

Stainless steel sculptures are a type of artistic sculpture, primarily made from stainless steel. Due to the material's advantages of resistance to alkalis and acids, and its anti-corrosive properties, they are increasingly used in outdoor sculpture creation as people's living standards improve. The materials commonly used for stainless steel sculptures are grades 201, 304, and 316. The stainless steel employed boasts excellent corrosion resistance, heat resistance, low-temperature strength, and mechanical properties, with good formability for processes like stamping and bending. Therefore, the sculptures we commonly see are generally crafted from stainless steel.

Secondly, the stainless steel sculpture production process:

For the sculpture of this project, we have adjusted the conventional production process to accommodate its unique characteristics. The process includes: based on the client's provided images → creating a clay model → casting a gypsum mold → casting a fiberglass mold → comparing the molds to forge the stainless steel plate into shape → assembling and welding → welding point treatment → surface sanding → connecting the light source → overall coloring → detailed finishing. The entire process involves numerous steps, requires significant labor costs, and has a long production timeline.

1. Typically, we require the client to provide the relevant drawings in the early stages of processing. However, for the uniqueness of this project, the client has provided photos instead. We need to create detailed processing drawings based on these photos to facilitate further construction.

2. After the drawings are confirmed, we mold the shapes of the trees we need out of clay. Once the clay is shaped, we make further modifications by comparing it to the images until they match.

After the clay is finished (after the basic shape is determined and before it cracks), apply plaster to the clay to shape the interior.

After the gypsum molding is dried, it is carefully detached from the clay sheet, ensuring no fractures during the removal process. The internal surface of the removed gypsum mold is coated with glue, followed by the application of glass fiber wire and another layer of glue, which must be repeated three times or more.

5. After the adhesive and glass fiber have fully merged and solidified, break the plaster, and then calculate the amount of stainless steel required based on the semi-finished glass fiber (material preparation).

6. Sequentially label and number the semi-finished fiberglass, then bond them together to form a cohesive shape.

7. Utilizing small pieces of stainless steel sheet, we assemble and cut them on the formed fiberglass, ensuring proper labeling and numbering. Based on the numbered sections on the stainless steel sheet, corresponding shapes are drawn. Since the stainless steel sheet is flat, and the sculpture's surface is three-dimensional, it is important that each small piece is not too large, and also has designated spaces for future processing.

After the previous process is completed, the three-dimensional sculptural surface becomes a series of flat shapes: the next step involves using initial tools to hammer each separated piece into a matching three-dimensional surface for the sculpture, leveraging the malleability of stainless steel. This repeated hammering requires ample time and patience, and the process is only considered finished when each piece fits perfectly with a specific area of the sculpture.

All the small pieces are shaped and fixed after the surface treatment, and then each piece of the stainless steel sculpture is connected together through welding, forming the final sculpture's exterior, which looks almost identical to the original mold.

After tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding, there will be a significant amount of slag on the stainless steel surface, which requires careful polishing with a grinding disc. During the polishing process, it is essential to inspect each weld seam for fullness.

After the welding points are completed, the customized irregular light sources from the participating manufacturers are connected, followed by multiple polishing and coloring processes for the overall sculpture.

12. A beautifully finished stainless steel sculpture has been fully processed to completion.

Section 3: Packaging and Transportation:

The finished sculptures are entirely wrapped with plastic adhesive film, then encased in a box made from thin wood or strips. Once the packaging is complete, the boxes are directly transported to the destination by vehicle.