Bespoke work · Hardware brands, galleries, hospitality and retail
Custom metal sculpture manufacturer — from a 3D model to a finished cast piece
Most metal suppliers can copy a shape you bring them. XANVOR starts earlier than that: we build the piece from nothing — a sketch, a photograph, a moodboard or a written brief — through 3D sculpting and CAD in our own studio, printed masters and patterns, casting, and then hand chasing, finishing and plating in our Moradabad workshop. It is the route behind pieces that are hard to source anywhere else: real modelled detail, repeatable dimensions, and a finish standard fixed by a sample you approved.
Custom MOQ 10 pcs per design · samples 1–5 pcs · reply within one working day.
The work most suppliers cannot quote
A catalogue supplier quotes what is already in a mould. The pieces below need the shape to be designed and engineered before anything is cast, which is where a sourcing enquiry usually stalls.
Figurative and sculptural forms — animals, birds, botanical and human forms with modelled surface, undercuts and real depth rather than a flat pressed relief.
Architectural hardware with exact interfaces — door pulls, levers and knobs where back fittings, fixing centres, hand clearance and drilling templates have to be right on a site, not approximately right.
Hollow bodies and thin sections — large pieces that must stay liftable and freight-sensible, cast hollow with controlled wall thickness instead of solid.
Multi-part assemblies — pieces split for casting and rejoined invisibly, with mounting, weighting and stability worked out at the model stage.
Wood with brass inlay — bands, lines and stringing let into sheesham and levelled flush, with cast brass handles and fittings seated into the timber. The tray shown below is built that way.
Masters and tooling for your own production — a wax master, a casting pattern or a CAD pack you can take to your own foundry.
How a piece is built
Brief and reference. Send a photo, sketch, moodboard, a physical sample or an existing CAD/STL. We reply with feasibility notes — what casts cleanly, what needs splitting, what the piece will weigh — and a quotation.
3D sculpting and CAD, in our studio. The piece is modelled to your reference, not improvised from a description. Wall thickness, hollowing, draft, part splits, sprue and vent planning, mounting and fixings are all settled here, and you see renders from every angle before anything is made.
Files you can check. We deliver STL, OBJ, GLB, STEP or 3dm so your engineer, foundry or installer can verify dimensions and interfaces independently.
Printed master or pattern. Resin masters and casting patterns are printed with our production partners in India, and metal 3D printing is used where a geometry cannot be cast. A silicone tool is taken from the approved master.
Casting. Sand casting in our own workshop for larger or simpler forms. With our casting partners: investment (lost-wax) casting for high-detail work, metal vacuum pressure casting where fine sections need low porosity, and resin (polyurethane) vacuum casting first when you want a physical approval sample before metal is committed.
Hand finishing in Moradabad. Fettling, hand chasing, nakkashi engraving where the design calls for it, polishing, and the finish you specified — antique gold, mirror polish, matte, oxidised, silver plate or powder coat, matched to your swatch.
Sample, then production. You approve a physical sample; size, weight, finish and packaging are frozen as the production standard. The batch is made against it with in-line QC, and you sign off photos and video of the packed goods before dispatch.
What we do ourselves, and what runs with partners
Worth being exact about, because buyers audit this.
In our own studio and workshop: 3D modelling and sculpting, CAD and file preparation, sand casting, fettling, hand chasing and engraving, polishing, plating and finishing, quality control, export packing.
With our production partners in India: resin and pattern 3D printing, metal 3D printing, investment casting and vacuum casting capacity. We specify, supply the model, and carry the quality responsibility for what comes back.
Arranged on request, charged separately: third-party testing and certification (SGS, FDA, Prop 65, LFGB, REACH) and factory audits. We do not claim certifications we do not hold.
What to send us for an accurate quotation
Reference images, a sketch or the CAD/STL if you have it.
Target size and, if it matters, target weight — weight drives both casting route and freight.
Metal and finish, or the reference swatch you want matched.
Quantity for the first order and the likely repeat.
Destination port or city, the Incoterm you work on, and the date you need goods in your warehouse.
Whether the design is to be exclusive to you, and any packaging or branding requirement.
Tooling, pattern and mould charges are quoted separately from the unit price · every quotation carries a reference number · orders are confirmed by Proforma Invoice.
Who this is for
Architectural hardware brands that need a signature range rather than a catalogue item. Interior designers and FF&E specifiers with a drawing and a deadline. Galleries, art publishers and licensors producing an edition in metal. Hospitality groups fitting out a property with pieces nobody else can order. Retail and gift brands who want an object that is theirs, made under their own label.
The WILDFORM range is this route run for ourselves — sculpted masters turned into cast brass hardware and objects — and OEM / private label covers production once a design is settled. For pieces that carry stone — agate, druzy, cabochons — see gemstone work.
Turn a piece in your hand
Modelled in our studio before anything is made — drag to rotate, scroll to zoom. It is the same model the workshop and the foundry work from.
Sculpted and cast — pieces from the catalogue
Made through the same route: modelled first, cast, then finished by hand.
Questions buyers ask before starting
Can you make a piece from just a photograph or a sketch?
Yes. Most projects start with a photograph, a sketch, a moodboard or a piece a buyer already sells. We model it in 3D first, so what you approve on screen is what the metal is made from. If you already have a CAD or STL file, send it and we quote directly from it.
Do you do metal 3D printing?
Yes, through our production partners in India. Design, sculpting and CAD are done in our own studio; printing of resin masters and patterns, metal printing and specialist casting run with partners we work with regularly, and every piece comes back into our Moradabad workshop for chasing, finishing and plating.
What is vacuum casting used for?
Two things. Resin (polyurethane) vacuum casting gives a buyer an approval sample from a silicone mould before any metal is committed. Metal vacuum pressure casting is used in production where a piece has thin or fine sections and needs low porosity and clean detail.
What does the development cost and what is charged separately?
Tooling, pattern and mould work on a new custom design is quoted separately from the unit price, as is any third-party testing or certification. The quotation states each line so nothing is buried in the piece price.
What is the minimum order on a custom piece?
The MOQ is 10 pieces per design, for custom, modified and catalogue designs alike. Samples are 1–5 pieces and the sample cost is adjusted against the bulk order. A physical sample is typically 7–14 days depending on complexity, and production after approval is typically 3–6 weeks.
Who owns the design and the 3D files?
Tell us at the quotation stage whether the design is to be exclusive to you and we confirm it in writing on the quotation, along with what happens to the CAD and the tooling after production.
Send the idea, however rough
A photograph and a target size are enough to get feasibility notes and a price. If it cannot be made well, we will say so and tell you what would work instead.