Northampton company helps bring nine-metre dinosaurs to life at Blenheim Palace
Technology from a Northampton company is helping to bring five life-size dinosaur sculptures to life as part of an exhibition at Blenheim Palace.
Igus, which is based in Northampton, supplied around 160 ball-and-socket couplings used to create articulated hands and feet for five full-scale Megalosaurus sculptures.
Each dinosaur measures nine metres long and forms part of the Dinosaurs Are Forever exhibition, which is running at Blenheim Palace until November 1.
The sculptures have been created by Future Fossils, an art and innovation studio founded by artist and writer Jay Jay Burridge.
The studio creates full-scale posable dinosaur sculptures using modern materials, combining prehistoric skeletons with futuristic technology.
Igus components were used to give the digits in the dinosaurs’ hands and feet freedom of movement, allowing them to be individually positioned while keeping the sculptures lightweight, robust and weather-resistant.
Traditional metal components would have added weight and required ongoing maintenance, while the company’s igubal ball-and-socket couplings are lubrication-free and designed to withstand outdoor conditions.
Jay Jay said: “Building dinosaurs for the future means looking beyond traditional materials and engineering.
“Igus motion plastics gave me a beautifully simple way to articulate the fingers and toes — lightweight, weatherproof and able to move exactly as I wanted.
“It’s a tiny piece of engineering repeated throughout a nine-metre dinosaur, but it makes an enormous difference to how alive the sculpture feels.”
The exhibition also has a historical connection to its location.
Fossils from Megalosaurus, which became the first dinosaur to be scientifically named, were discovered close to Blenheim Palace in the early 19th century.
Future Fossils describes its work as imagining what dinosaurs of the future might look like, with sculptures exploring the space between biology and machines, and scientific fact and fiction.
The Dinosaurs Are Forever exhibition is open to the public at Blenheim Palace every day from 10am to 5.30pm until November 1.