http://www.howitworksdaily.com How It Works 033
DID YOU KNOW? The first Ford car sold, the 1903 Model A, had a two-cylinder engine and a maximum speed of 48kph
W
hat relationship do you have with your
car? When cars were first created, they
served one purpose: to travel from A to
B. While this is inev itably still their core purpose
today, the huge variation in designs generated by
global car companies prov ides flexibilit y in both
st yle and function. There’s also an aspect of
personalisation in the car-choosing process.
In Ford Europe’s design centre, car designers
are working with new technolog y to ensure the
most effective methods. Recently they’ve been
focusing on how best to create cars that are
centred around humans and their personal
tastes. As their head of design says, it does not
just want to install “tech for tech’s sake,” but to
benefit the people at the heart of the cars.
One of the main techniques to bring customer
experience to the forefront of design has been a
work in progress for three years. Interior
designer Nicolas Fourny came up with the idea of
turning his sketches into a 3D experience using
existing VR technolog y. By v irtually placing the
design team into the car to experience their
ideas before they become reality, they are able to
create more practicalit y-focused vehicles. The
added dimensions allow sections of the interior
sketches to be slotted together and placed on a
sphere: this creates a complete 360-degree v iew
of their proposed interior before committing to
dimensions in manufacturing.
As well as refining design methods, modern
technology incorporated into cars’ functions is
helpingFord and other companies enhance the
verexperience. Vehicles can detect your
sence – the Ford Kuga model processes your
vements around the car so that you can open
boot hands-free, for example. These subtle
chesselected by designers aim to connect
mans with car technology. Giving the illusion
arsandhumansworkingtogetherasa team,
Fordhopestechnologicaladvancementcan
buildstrongerrelationshipsbetweenhumans
andtheircars.3D knitted seats
Ford is beginning to explore the possibilities of 3D knitting for its
car seats. Using yarn material in a process similar to 3D printing,
machines follow an algorithm with step-by-step instructions to knit
the material into various shapes and designs. With this system the
seat covers can be produced seamlessly, as large sections of
material are knitted in one go.
This technology is new to the car design industry, but has been
around for a while for applications such as running shoes and
furniture manufacture. By creating larger, whole pieces of fabric,
there are less production steps as a result. Cutting and sewing
together fabric pieces is no longer necessary. In turn, this creates
less waste material. Opening up doors to further design paths, the
technology also allows the potential for built-in connectivity. Soon
3D-knitted car seats could be incorporating functions such as
heating, door and window controls, wireless phone charging and
driver health monitors.T ma
curvedchassiswas
designusingVRCustomers can choose from a
range of 3D knitting materialp
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