ICAMS creates unique Auburn-themed eagle sculptures through advanced machinery
Published: Jan 27, 2022 3:45 PM
By Carla Nelson
A unique Auburn-themed creation has been developed in the manufacturing lab of the Interdisciplinary Center for Advanced Manufacturing Systems (ICAMS). An eagle head sculpture was created in the center’s five-axis mill machine and is so impressive that Dean Christopher B. Roberts of the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering requested 25 be created for the college’s Strategic Advisory Team.
Lewis Payton, associate director of operations for ICAMS, said the sculptures began as a solid block of aluminum that is approximately seven inches tall with a depth and width of four inches.
“It goes through multiple work sessions with undergraduates where it gets sawed and then squared and sized before it goes into the machine,” Payton said of the process. “It works through four different machines: a saw, two different three-axis mills prepping the stock, and then it goes into a modern five-axis mill where it’s not touched by a human again until it’s finished.”
The eagle was created with 3D computer-aided design software. The tool paths that the machine follows to create the part were designed by Auburn graduate student and research engineer Joshua Whiting. The sculpture weighs approximately four pounds and takes six hours to create.
Senator Tommy Tuberville also proudly displays the same eagle in his office in Washington, D.C.
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An eagle head sculpture was created in the ICAM’s five-axis mill machine.
