I'm sure that we've all gazed at those wonderful concept cars which the manufacturers roll out at each and every auto show and thought, "How on earth did they come up with that idea"!
Well, I was fortunate enough recently to take a guided tour of Ford's design studio in Dearborn, Michigan, and what an eye-opener that was for me.
Now I've seen footage in the past, as I'm sure many of you have, of skilled craftsmen painstakingly shaping and carving huge chunks of modeling clay until it resembled some form of an automobile.
Even today, they still work with full-scale models sculptured in clay. However, the carving and shaping process is now carried out at the speed of light by a highly computerized, purpose built machine which can not only create a full-size clay vehicle in a matter of hours, it can also perform this with a precision that was previously unheard of.
Of course, before any design evolves to that stage, it has to have been thought up, drawn out, and decided upon.
This is perhaps where the design process has changed the most in recent years. Yes, Ford's design teams still draw out their ideas. However, the stylus has now largely replaced the pen, and paper has taken a back seat to the computer screen.
Yes, the design department at Ford has become seriously high-tech, in fact, so high-tech that it is now within their capabilities to completely design a vehicle, view it full scale on a gigantic monitor, and then take that vehicle for a quick test-drive before it is even assembled!!
Let me explain that in greater detail... Advancements in computerized design programs have enabled the Ford team to be able to design almost every aspect of a vehicle on the computer. Then, using high-resolution animations, and huge purpose designed presentation screens that allow for 3-dimentional viewing in HD, they can actually test-drive their creations in a computerized virtual world.
This allows for on-the-fly alterations. Everything, from engine changes to altering the hood shape slightly to accept that new motor, can now be performed in mere seconds. They can even conceive a totally new body color, view it on the vehicle under an array of different lighting, and once decided upon, send that information through to the Ford body shop, where the team there can produce the required paint to match that exact color.
Well, I was fortunate enough recently to take a guided tour of Ford's design studio in Dearborn, Michigan, and what an eye-opener that was for me.
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Now I've seen footage in the past, as I'm sure many of you have, of skilled craftsmen painstakingly shaping and carving huge chunks of modeling clay until it resembled some form of an automobile.
Even today, they still work with full-scale models sculptured in clay. However, the carving and shaping process is now carried out at the speed of light by a highly computerized, purpose built machine which can not only create a full-size clay vehicle in a matter of hours, it can also perform this with a precision that was previously unheard of.
Of course, before any design evolves to that stage, it has to have been thought up, drawn out, and decided upon.
This is perhaps where the design process has changed the most in recent years. Yes, Ford's design teams still draw out their ideas. However, the stylus has now largely replaced the pen, and paper has taken a back seat to the computer screen.
Yes, the design department at Ford has become seriously high-tech, in fact, so high-tech that it is now within their capabilities to completely design a vehicle, view it full scale on a gigantic monitor, and then take that vehicle for a quick test-drive before it is even assembled!!
Let me explain that in greater detail... Advancements in computerized design programs have enabled the Ford team to be able to design almost every aspect of a vehicle on the computer. Then, using high-resolution animations, and huge purpose designed presentation screens that allow for 3-dimentional viewing in HD, they can actually test-drive their creations in a computerized virtual world.
This allows for on-the-fly alterations. Everything, from engine changes to altering the hood shape slightly to accept that new motor, can now be performed in mere seconds. They can even conceive a totally new body color, view it on the vehicle under an array of different lighting, and once decided upon, send that information through to the Ford body shop, where the team there can produce the required paint to match that exact color.
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