CATEGORIES

• Ask ColCam
• Commercials
• Full Ford
• Going Ford
• Industry News
• My Wheels
• Racing
• Events
• Test Drive
• Ford Dealer List

SPECIAL

Ford Territory

SPECIAL

Ford Territory

The Virtual Falcon

Staff, Monday July 15, 2002.

Page 1 of 1

That's how much storage space Ford's IT gurus estimate the data on the new BA Falcon has consumed ? 30 terabytes, or 30 million megabytes.

And of course, you'd need one of the fastest supercomputers in the world. Ford Australia's engineers have access to processing power at Ford's Dearborn headquarters that is among the most powerful supercomputer centres in the world.

The new BA Falcon had its genesis, as all cars do, in the minds of artists. But these days the designer's tool of choice is a powerful software program called Alias. This state-of-the-art drawing tool allows designers to accurately render preliminary 2D drawings of future product that can be viewed from any conceivable angle.

Even more important is the ability of the designer to incorporate vital information from the packaging team. Previously, preliminary drafts were subject to red markings from engineers who spotted potential conflicts in the designer's concept. Now, the designers already have access to that information ? such as seating, headroom and legroom requirements ? a situation that has drastically reduced time-wasting ? and expensive - stoppages.

"It's simultaneous engineering," says Director of Design Simon Butterworth.

"Every member of the design team can work on his or her own particular element. That work is automatically updated onto a master database that continually monitors every piece of the virtual jigsaw and foresees any potential problem."

While the design is underway, the 80 people working in Computer Aided Design (CAD) have already started isolating the various features of the virtual car and have started to build up each separate component on workstation monitors.

Main tool of the trade for the CAD engineers is the digital buck, which in essence allows for a visualisation of engineering ideas on the engineer's workstation monitor.

"We can strip out the unnecessary data and carefully inspect every piece of the car," says CAD Manager Ross McBride.

"Previously it was a case of physically building the various parts and checking for clearances and the like. Today, we can build up the part on computer and check to make sure it fulfills its intended purpose. We can also ensure it doesn't interfere with anything else."

The cutting edge software, called Ideas, allows CAD engineers to rotate any part of the car through 360 degrees, and check for any potential issues.

It also allows them to investigate the feasibility of various options for the car, and what effect they might have. For example, Ross and his team can investigate running different size wheel and tyre packages on the new Falcon and foresee the outcome of each option.

"It's effectively a prototype. Given that conventional prototypes are horrendously expensive to construct, the virtual prototype not only represents a massive saving in expense but it's also an invaluable tool in investigating the feasibility of new ideas."

Each time one of the CAD engineers ends a 'session', any changes or alterations he or she has made are automatically updated to the master database. This ensures that any subsequent work includes the very latest parts list.

Working closely with CAD are the people in Computer Aided Engineering (CAE). This is the department that takes each new virtual part and uses computer power to run a series of exhaustive tests.

"It's analytical prototyping," says CAE Product Development Manager Adam Frost. "This is where we find out if the virtual part can work. Or, if it doesn't, what can be done to fix it."

Adam and his team use the Dearborn supercomputer centre for this part of the process. And the time difference between Michigan and Melbourne gives Ford Australia designers access to all that processing power when Ford US staff are off-line.

"What it means is we get analysis of new designs and reworked designs more quickly than we used to. Instead of running only a couple of iterations, we can now test literally hundreds of different iterations. Ultimately, it means a better car because so much more of the car has been tested before it gets to prototype stage," says Frost.

The first real world example of the new Falcon was a clay model turned out by Simon Butterworth's design team. Using all the information gleaned from hours of virtual testing, the computer controlled cutting heads went to work, transforming a lump of brown clay into the sleek lines of the next generation Falcon.

The clay model was then dressed with dynoc, a coating material that can be painted and transferred onto the car. The finished product is astonishingly realistic.

"The clay model is a vital element in the process of building a new car. It's great to have access to all that computer power and cutting edge software, but the proof of the pudding lies in having a full scale model in front of you," Butterworth said.

For further information contact:
Ford Australia Communications
Phone: 03-9359 8491

Previous Article: Future Motorsports Heroes in Coffs Harbour for Ford Kartstars
Next Article: Simon Butterworth Director of Design, Ford Australia