Case Study: Robert Graham Studios scales a 30-inch maquette into an 8-foot, detail-preserving bronze for the Los Angeles Cathedral with 3D Systems

Sculptor Calls On 3D Scanning to Scale and Deliver Statue to Los Angeles Cathedral

3D Systems helped sculptor Robert Graham scale a 30‑inch plastilene maquette into an eight‑foot, 1,000‑pound bronze Virgin Mary for the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. The challenge was to enlarge the piece dramatically while preserving Graham’s fine organic detail (hair, muscles, wrinkles) and to produce a watertight model suitable for engineering an internal armature and full‑scale production.

Scansite captured the approved polyurethane cast with Cyberware scanners into a 1.7 million‑point cloud, and Geomagic Wrap was used to merge scans, generate a polygonal, watertight model, and use subdivision tools to retain detail during enlargement. Ctek milled full‑size clay parts from the data (oversized for casting shrinkage), the sections were hand‑finished, molded and lost‑wax cast in bronze, then assembled and installed — delivering a faithful, highly detailed final statue that met the artist’s vision and was dedicated at the cathedral.

Robert Graham Studios

Noriko Fujinami

Director