Stainless Steel or Fiberglass Resin for a Large Figure
Two completely different routes to a large sculpture, each with a form language it suits and one it fights.
Stainless Steel Sculpture
Large Stainless Steel Combination of Ball
Large Stainless Steel Combination of Ball is a mirror polished 316L stainless steel water feature built to order in our Shenzhen workshop.
Product Overview
What This Piece Is
Large Stainless Steel Combination of Ball is a mirror polished 316L stainless steel water feature built to order in our Shenzhen workshop.
A water feature adds sound as well as sight, which is what makes a courtyard feel separated from the street beyond it.
316L is the low carbon version of 316, which keeps the weld zone from sensitising on the long continuous seams a large sculpture needs.
The minimum order is one piece, the size is set by your drawing rather than by a catalogue, a sketch, a render or a dimensioned drawing is enough to start a quotation.
Large Stainless Steel Combination of Ball produced by Xinhengda Sculpture in Shenzhen
Key Benefits
Why Buyers Specify This Piece
- Made in 316L stainless steel, chosen where long welded seams meet a marine or poolside environment.
- The mirror polished surface picks up sky, planting and passing people, so the piece changes through the day instead of reading as one fixed object.
- A brushed matte face scatters light instead of throwing it back, which suits interiors where a mirror surface would be distracting.
- Height, width and base detail for this water feature are set from your drawing, so it is proportioned to the space instead of being the nearest standard size.
- One water feature is a full order. A single project in gardens and courtyards does not have to wait for a container quantity.
- Lighting can be designed into the water feature so it still reads after dark, with the cable route concealed inside the structure.
- At large scale this water feature is trial assembled in the workshop, then split into transportable sections with the joints placed where they will not be seen.
Application Scenarios
Where It Is Installed
Set on a lawn, in a planting bed or on a courtyard paving grid, on a concrete pad or a levelled base plate.
Installed in a park, on a plaza or at a landscape entrance, where the piece has to survive public contact and read from a distance.
Placed in a hotel lobby, on an arrival axis or beside a reception desk, where it is the first object a guest registers.
Used in a mall atrium, a retail entrance or a showroom, as a fixed point that shoppers photograph and navigate by.
Who It Is For
The People Who Order This
- Galleries and trade buyers reselling 316L stainless water features into their own local projects
- Main contractors who need the water feature, the base plate and the crate quoted as one package
- Private clients commissioning a single mirror polished water feature for gardens and courtyards
- Architects matching a water feature to a material palette that already uses 316L stainless
Problems It Solves
What This Piece Removes From the Project
- On a big piece the welds run for metres. Low carbon 316L keeps those seams as corrosion resistant as the panel beside them.
- A poorly polished mirror surface shows the weld lines and a wavy reflection. Grinding the seams flat before polishing is what removes both.
- Mirror surfaces can be too busy in a small room. A brushed face keeps the form readable and hides fingerprints.
- Freight damage to a mirror polished surface is the most common way a water feature project goes wrong. The crate is built around the geometry rather than bought as a standard box.
- A water feature specified late has to fit dimensions that are already fixed. Working from your drawing means the piece adapts instead of the scheme.
Technical Features
How It Is Constructed
- Internal pipework, pump chamber and drainage detailed into the form rather than added afterwards
- Mirror polished by hand through successive grits until the reflection is undistorted across the whole surface
- Directional brushed finish applied consistently across panels so the grain runs one way
- Colour matched baked coating over a primed and prepared substrate
- Fabricated throughout in 316L stainless steel with matching filler where the material is welded
- Edges and arrises detailed for the contact a water feature gets in gardens and courtyards
Specifications
Recorded Specification
| Material | 316L stainless steel |
|---|---|
| Finish | Mirror polished and Brushed matte |
| Form | Water Feature |
| Category | Stainless Steel Sculpture |
| Size | Made to your drawing |
| Minimum Order | 1 piece |
| Placement | Outdoor and indoor |
| Lighting | Integrated lighting available |
| Packing | Foam lined plywood crate built to the finished geometry |
| Origin | Shenzhen China |
Dimensions, weight and lead time for this water feature are confirmed with the quotation, because it is built to your drawing rather than to a stainless steel sculpture catalogue size.
Materials
What It Is Made From
- 316L stainless steel
- Integrated LED components where lighting is specified
- Stainless or galvanised fixings sized for this water feature and supplied with it
Manufacturing Process
How It Is Made
1
Laser cutting of 316L sheet to the developed pattern
2
Forming and rolling of the panel sections
3
TIG welding with 316L filler across the full seam length
4
Weld dressing and levelling
5
Polishing or texturing to the specified finish
6
Pickling and passivation after all welding is complete
Quality Control
What Is Checked and When
- Incoming sheet grade checked against the order
- Welder qualification matched to the seam type
- Seam length inspected in sections during dressing
- Passivation record kept for the whole piece
- Trial assembly before the crate is built
Customisation Options
What Can Be Changed
- Overall height, width and depth of the water feature set from your drawing or from the dimensions of gardens and courtyards
- Design developed from your sketch, render or reference photograph
- Finish changed between mirror, brushed and coloured coating on the same water feature
- Base detail changed between a flush plate, a plinth and a direct planting bed fixing
- The water feature split into transportable sections where access to gardens and courtyards is restricted
Comparison
How It Compares With the Alternatives
Compared with Standard 316 stainless steel
Standard 316 is fine on short seams. Where a sculpture is welded almost continuously, 316L keeps the heat affected zone as durable as the rest.
Compared with An imported gallery piece
A gallery water feature arrives as it is. Working direct with the workshop means the size, the mirror polish and the base for gardens and courtyards are decided before anything is cut.
Compared with A general metal fabricator
A fabricator can weld a water feature but rarely has the polishing capacity. On 316L stainless the surface work is where the piece is won or lost.
Use Guide
Looking After It Once It Is Installed
- Fresh water rinse on a regular cycle in coastal air
- Neutral detergent wash, then dry the surface
- Keep the base and drainage clear of leaf litter
- No chloride based or abrasive cleaners
- Fingerprints show on a mirror surface. A neutral detergent wash and a dry microfibre cloth is all it takes.
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Guides That Apply To This Piece
Comparison Guide
Process Guide
How a Custom Sculpture Is Made From Brief to Crate
Every stage of a commission, what can still change at each point, and what is locked once it passes.
Maintenance Guide
Caring for a Mirror Polished Stainless Steel Sculpture
Very little is needed, but the wrong product used once can undo a finish that took days to achieve.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can this be made in a different size
Yes. Large Stainless Steel Combination of Ball is made to order, so the height and width are set from your drawing or from the dimensions of the space. Send the position and the height you have in mind and the quotation follows those figures.
What is the minimum order quantity
One piece. There is no container minimum, which is why single projects in gardens and courtyards are a normal part of the workload here.
Why 316L stainless steel rather than something cheaper
316L is the low carbon version of 316, which keeps the weld zone from sensitising on the long continuous seams a large sculpture needs. On a big piece the welds run for metres. Low carbon 316L keeps those seams as corrosion resistant as the panel beside them.
Will the mirror finish show the welds
Not if the seams are ground level before polishing starts. Every weld on a mirror piece is dressed flat first, which is why the reflection stays undistorted across the joint.
Does a brushed finish mark as easily as a mirror finish
No. A brushed face hides fingerprints and light scuffing much better, which is why it is the usual choice for pieces within reach of the public.
How is a water feature this size packed and shipped
A plywood crate is built around the finished geometry with foam on every mirror polished face. Large water features are split into sections at joints chosen during design, trial assembled in the workshop, then marked so they go back together in the same order on site.
What do you need from me to quote
The position, the height or overall size you want, and any drawing, render or reference photograph you already have. For gardens and courtyards a photograph of the space is often enough to start.
Quote This Piece for Your Project
Send the position, the height you want and any drawing you have. The quotation comes back against your figures, not against a catalogue size.