Inside Ford’s Clay Modelling Studio

Every car you see on the road has gone through the same design processes. It all starts with a line sketch. The designer then builds on to the basic shape of the car, adding further details. After a digital render of the car is finalized, it is the duty of the clay modelers to build a 3D scale model of the design. This selection of videos shows how clay modelling is at the heart of the design process at the Ford Motor Company.

Clay modelling in the automotive industry has been around for over 80 years. Now, thanks to modern technology, once a full-size clay model is complete, precision laser scanners can build an accurate virtual 3D model.

Clay modelling is a time intensive process and only those with an for design and creativity get employed in this field. It takes around 8 weeks to build a scale model in clay. This could soon change as new technologies like 3D printing may cut the time to build clay models, ensuring an accelerated design process.

Inside Ford’s Clay Modelling Studios:

Source: Ford via Youtube