SAIT Creates Stainless Steel Dental Work for Calgary Elephant

Ganesha, or Spike as he is nicknamed, is a bull elephant born in 1981 at the Miami Metro Zoo in Florida and transferred to the Calgary Zoo in 1992. Now fully mature, he measures more than 10 ft. tall at the shoulder and weighs more than 12,000 lbs.

His first set of stainless steel tusk caps were applied in 2002 after he broke a tusk playing roughly with his favorite toy, a large tire. Then, in late 2008, after becoming impatient entangled under a watering mechanism, Spike broke his right tusk just above the cap.

To prevent further damage and possible infection, he received two new tusk caps this past August.

Each stainless steel tusk cap weighs approximately 46 lbs. and is the result of collaboration between the zoo and the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) School of Manufacturing and Automation. Others companies involved in the project were Faro Industries, PolyWorks, Sandvik Coromant, Lab Machine Works, and 3M.

The tusk caps were designed and manufactured at the SAIT and both machining and welding techniques were used to create the 20.5-in.-long, 12-in.-high caps. Wooden prototypes were made first and fitted on Spike to determine the correct measurements.

A machinist, welder, and 10-tonne hoist were all on hand during installation just in case there was a last-minute problem during fit-up.

“Creating enormous artificial tusk caps strong enough to withstand an elephant was not an easy task, but certainly worth all the effort,” said SAIT Dean of Manufacturing and Automation Brad Donaldson. “This project is a wonderful example of how specific manufacturing and trade skills can be used for innovative solutions in very unique circumstances.”

More than 16 people were involved in the collaborative process of creating the uniquely shaped stainless steel caps.

Faro Technologies assisted with detailed surface scanning of Spike’s tusks to provide 3-D information used to create computer-generated designs for the cap manufacturing and ensure a good fit as each tusk is unique in shape.

PolyWorks created the models from the gathered data. Wooden prototypes were then developed to reflect the internal dimensions and size of the tusks to ensure a proper fit for Spike before machining, welding, and finishing the final cap version.

Sandvik Coromant, Encore Metals, and Lab Machine Works provided the tools, stainless steel, and machining. As in 2002, 3M supplied the epoxy to ensure the tusk caps remain in place.

For more information, visit www.calgaryzoo.org and www.sait.ca.