An earlier post covered 3D design and how it’s being utilized in the field of architecture. 3D technologies have applications in many fields — manufacturing, entertainment, design and medicine to name a few — and this post takes a look at Ford Motor Company and how it’s applying 3D design and modeling to automotive design. Typically when you think of designing a car you most likely picture detailed drawings and clay models of the auto in different stages of completion. Ford’s advanced virtual reality design labs move the entire process to the computer where it is digitized through CAD software and advanced 3D modeling. The process of creating a new automobile model is so complex and rich with detail the final stages of 3D rendering for the final output can take up to 12 hours to generate on Ford’s 670-core rendering farm.
The design process at Ford begins with a digital illustration program — Autodesk TKTKTKT — to create a drawing of the concept. This side-view image of the car design in progress is worked on and tweaked until a basic full-color version of the design is created. At this point things get interesting and 3D technology comes into play.
(Excerpt taken from second link in the first paragraph)
Through the magic of CAD software, these sketches get extrapolated into full three-dimensional renderings. Crucial as they are for engineers, who need to figure out how to shoehorn all the associate drivetrain parts into a shell of a body, these 3D models also still have plenty of use for designers as they fine tune the finish details of the car.
The entire 3D design process at Ford Motor is so detailed it even includes digitally scanning actual physical locations to provide settings for the virtual car. This allows designers to see how different environments and lighting conditions play against the vehicle’s surface.
