In August 2016 Constructive Evaluation Limited were instructed by Hockley and Dawson on behalf of their client, Historic Royal Palaces, to undertake a testing regime to the proposed Polyamide material to be used for the replacement of 72 dragons that perch on the tiered roof structure of the restored Great Pagoda in Kew Gardens. Due to the pagoda dating back to the 1760’s, the new dragons were commissioned in order to drastically reduce the potential loading problems incurred by using wood carvings throughout. The previous wooden carvings weighed in at around 250 kilos. The new plastic printed dragons were less than 10 kilos, a fraction of their wooden counterparts.
A bespoke series of tests were devised by Constructive Evaluation to determine whether any structural deformation of the material had occurred during the production process, and also to verify the acceptance of the material for final paint finishes.
Later, during construction of the actual 3D printed dragons a sample body, minus head and wings, was required to be tested for wind loading to eliminate any risk of the tail becoming detached from the body once in situ. Due to the initial deflections noted further adjustments were undertaken prior to the dragons’ final construction to meet with the required standards.
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