Traditionally, vehicle designers would draw sketches of the car or truck they were working on and then turn the sketches into physical models by sculpting clay. This process was extremely laborious, so today's designers are using new software tools to design tomorrow's cars and trucks.

Design in Motion

An innovative software tool called "Bunkspeed" is influencing how cars and trucks are being designed in studios throughout the company. Bunkspeed allows designers to convert their sketches into computer models and explore different options like various wheel sizes and vehicle colors. Once the designer is satisfied with his or her choices, the data can be exported to milling machines and clay modelers, which create a full-size, three-dimensional model.

Computer technology has been a useful tool in designers' toolboxes for years. Bunkspeed software is unique because it allows designers to change the environment, change the lighting conditions and see the vehicle in action. Our designers use these features help them see how the reflections shift across the surfaces and improve their designs.

More Efficient Design

The speed and authenticity delivered via the Bunkspeed system—used in studios that deliver Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Jaguar and Volvo products—translate into significant savings.

In a few hours, our designers can look at a number of alternatives for a vehicle. If they can get from six options down to three before making any models, that's a savings of many, many weeks and hours of labor.

Bunkspeed also allows designers to share information more quickly. For instance, when a designer creates a model, the engineers receive the data instantly, instead of waiting for the designers to measure the clay models and translate that into a surface.

The Future of Clay Models

Our designs are still rendered and perfected in clay because nothing will ever replace the human touch. Regardless of how helpful computers are, they've never designed anything—it's the people operating the computers that make the magic happen.

However, our clay modelers are now being trained to express their artistry on computers, so they can become the best of the best computer modelers—just as they've been the best of the best clay modelers.