Molding a More Sustainable Future
Ford continues to improve sustainability in every part of the business, recycling nearly 5,000 pounds of car modeling clay last year – or enough to create up to three full-size clay vehicle model. Ford has been using a proprietary clay recycling machine to recover and reprocess more than 20,000 pounds of clay in the past five years. Full-size clay modeling remains a crucial part of the Ford design process, enabling engineers and designers to identify issues that are not apparent on digital or small- scale models
Modeling clay is a favorite of many children, who can craft, re-craft and recycle the pliable stuff over many years. While a bit more advanced, Ford has employed a similar idea with the clay it uses to model future vehicles: craft, re-craft and then recycle, the latter to the tune of nearly 5,000 pounds of clay each year.
Even as Ford embraces digital design and new technology, nothing beats building a full-size clay model of a vehicle. These clay models remain an important part of Ford’s creative design process, helping designers spot issues in both the interior and exterior of a vehicle. “We are constantly being influenced by new technologies, but when we want to view physical properties early in the process, we still turn to clay,” said Lloyd VandenBrink, modeling manager at Ford’s Truck Studio in Dearborn, Michigan. “When a design is still fluid, clay allows immediate reviews and feedback so necessary for working in a collaborative atmosphere.”
And building these models requires a lot of clay. Ford uses up to 200,000 pounds of clay every year to construct full-size vehicle models. None of this material would be reused in the past, but during the last five years the company has used a proprietary machine to recycle more than 20,000 pounds of clay and keep it out of landfills.
That’s the equivalent of a dozen full-size clay model exteriors. For example, a full-size model built to design the new Raptor was composed of 1,935 pounds of clay – and designers spent 20,000 hours modeling it over four years.
To read the full story, visit https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/feu/en/news/2016/10/11/molding-a-more-sustainable-future–how-ford-recycles-clay-to-red.pdf.