mental pieces and a majority of the Tholos section of the Capitol Dome that serves as the base of the Statue of Freedom at the top. ǻŸ NjsƼĶ Os _ Ŏ ¶s_ ÞNjŸŘ ƼÞsOsǣʰ fiNjǣǼ ǼÌs


crew working at the Dome would select a matching piece that was undamaged. The feature in good condition was removed from the Dome and shipped to the metalcasting facility, where it was used to make a pattern. A pattern is used to form the shape of a cast-


ing in the mold and can be made of wood, metal, plaster, foam or plastic. Two pattern methods were used for the


Dome Restoration project. Some molds were made in a manual process using rubber and plaster materials, others were made by scanning the iron pieces with laser technol- ogy, which translated the shape of the part to a 3-D model on the computer. Using that model, patterns could be printed on a 3-D


Photo provided by the Architect of the Capitol.


Using an existing rosette ornament, Historical Arts & Casting produced a negative of the piece to create the pattern used to make the mold.


Photo provided by the Architect of the Capitol.


An automated cutter carves out the details for a wood pattern based on data gathered with 3-D scanners.


Photo provided by the Architect of the Capitol.


Photo provided by the Architect of the Capitol.


Historical Arts & Casting made a pattern out of rubber (left) from an existing lambs tongue ornament. Good pieces, along with broken castings, were taken from the Dome to create the newly cast ornaments (right).


12 MELTING POINT


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