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 鈥� 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鈥檚 creative design process, helping designers spot issues in both the interior and exterior of a vehicle. 鈥淲e are constantly being influenced by new technologies, but when we want to view physical properties early in the process, we still turn to clay,鈥� said Lloyd VandenBrink, modeling manager at Ford鈥檚 Truck Studio in Dearborn, Michigan. 鈥淲hen a design is still fluid, clay allows immediate reviews and feedback so necessary for working in a collaborative atmosphere.鈥�
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鈥檚 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 鈥� and designers spent 20,000 hours modeling it over four years.
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