Man of Steel gets model look from AMRC

AN intricate model of what is set to become a 30m sculpture designed to pay tribute to South Yorkshire’s history of steel and coal industries has been created at The University of Sheffield AMRC.

The 2m Man of Steel model is the work of sculptor Steve Mehdi, and was originally created as a 30cm bronze figure.

As well as reflecting on the past, it is also set to highlight the region’s 21st century strengths in advanced manufacturing and metals technology.

The proposed 30m sculpture will feature a 20m stainless steel figure sat on an 18m coal-black column.

The future landmark will overlook the M1 motorway from a former landfill site a few miles north of the AMRC campus on the Advanced Manufacturing Park.

Mr Mehdi said: “Man of Steel was inspired by the men and women I worked with in engineering in Sheffield, and the generations of people who worked in steel and coal across the region.

“The inspiration for a landmark version of the sculpture came from local people who first saw the sculpture in an exhibition of my work and said ‘This could be our Angel of the North’.”

He added: “This project honours the past and embraces the future, bringing together the heritage of the old industries and signposting the new technologies of the Sheffield city Region.

“These rapid developments in design technology and manufacture are led by the University of Sheffield AMRC in Rotherham, so I am delighted that the AMRC has used its expertise to create this version of the Man of Steel.”

John Halfpenny, manufacturing engineer at the AMRC with Boeing Composite Centre, managed production of the model Man of Steel.

“This was a totally different project to our usual work in the Composite Centre – it’s nothing like what we’ve done before,” he said.

“But it’s good to work on a project that’s potentially going to be in Sheffield for the next 200 years.”

The model is made from polyurethane resin board, a material normally used for creating prototypes and models of automotive and aerospace structures.

The assembled model will now be given a stainless metal coating, and mounted on a 2m column made by Sheffield-based Tool and Steel Products.

The finished model will be on show at the AMRC during the Global Manufacturing Festival in April, which commemorates the centenary of stainless steel’s discovery by Sheffield metallurgist Harry Brearley.

It will also be exhibited at the Magna Science Centre in Rotherham and Kelham Island Museum in Sheffield.