CAD: Life in the virtual world

Source: Technology Digital

Date :11/21/2007 5:07:04 AM

Design consultancy UltraMotive and Peter Horbury, Executive Director of design at Ford, talked to Exec UK about the latest applications of CAD and CAE tools.

Written by Ruari McCallion

One of the great appeals of computer-aided design (CAD) is that manufacturers can check and examine their ideas before they spend money on full-sized car models for crash-testing. 3D modelling allows ideas to be checked thoroughly, even for the way the surface reflects light and will look in the real world.

In the past, if there was something a bit out then a lot of time and money would already have been spent getting to that point. Ford Motor Company has just installed the world’s largest milling machine at its Detroit headquarters.

It runs using mag-lev (magnetic levitation) technology and can model something the size of a truck in a single session – but it hopes not to make too much use of it.

“As the tools we use improve, we’re getting to the point where we can take a design through to a single clay model, as we did with the Volvo S40,” said Peter Horbury, executive director of design, North & South America, with Ford Motor Company.

Convenience

“We arrived at three foam models for consideration and chose a single design to take through. When we saw the ideas ‘in the foam flesh’, we preferred the front of one to the others. We were able to switch it, check it was right, then blend the design for the final clay.

We did it all onscreen, checked the suspension and the internals still fitted and then proceeded.” Horbury has been using digital design tools for around 20 years.

“The Volvo S60 was 65 percent CAD; the XC90 was 80 percent and the S40 was 98 percent designed on computer,” he said. The Detroit Ford studio’s transition to CAD began later than many but is taking less time and using more advanced tools.

The Edge used a percentage of CAD in its design and development; the Flex, displayed at the New York show, was a more advanced project but still only around 65-70 percent CAD.

“It takes time. After six lessons with Alias you can do something but it takes practice to become adept and a few years to become a true expert,” he explained. But the process has already been going on for a while.

“This month, I’m putting together a team that’s totally proficient in computer modelling. We’re able now to take cars and models that haven’t been touched by human hand right to the milling point...”

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