A team at UK CADCAM software developer Delcam has completed the model of the Maitreya Buddha that will be used as the basis of the world's largest statue. The CAD model has been created with Delcam's CopyCAD reverse engineering software from scan data captured from a life-size sculpture using a Brueckmann optical scanner.
The completion of the CAD model is one of the key stages in Delcam's technical support for the Maitreya Project, a major religious development in Body Gaya, India, that will include the construction of the 152.4m statue. It will be made from approximately 8,000 two-metre square cast bronze panels, aligned and secured to a vast civil engineering structure.
The scan data was captured from a 'master' sculpture created by Peter and Denise Griffin on the basis of ancient scriptures and the wisdom of Buddhist masters. The surfacing process has been used to enhance the aesthetic qualities of the Maitreya form. For example, CopyCAD has allowed artists to add symmetry and uniformity to the face of the statue.