The extensive McQueen range has a cast iron leg. In the design and development of this component we exploited the knowledge and skills of an excellent metal casting company in Portugal. The process used is known as Sand Casting, it is a well established and elemental, almost primal process. Every leg made comes from it's own mould, used only once to produce a single leg. An original perfect model of the legs is produced and this is embedded in a fine sand. The original model is removed and holes and channels are cut into the sand to allow the glowing red moulten metal to be poured, sparking hot into the space left by the model.

Earlier in the design process, following sketching and CAD work, the first physical models were made from cardboard. This enabled us to get a more accurate understanding of the form and the balance of the leg than was possible with the computer virtual model. One of our concerns was getting the visual weight and balance of the leg correct when mounted on all the various pieces in the McQueen range with pieces of such varying size and mass this was quite a challenge.

After a trial casting in iron we got a very good idea of final form, and a real sense of the weight and balance.
We encountered some technical problems with initial castings, but once these were solved production began.


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