In an alternate reality...

"and 100 more" (nth256) 02/13/2019 at 12:32 • Filed to: None

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... I am part of the team working on this.

Alternate-reality me is so cool.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > and 100 more 02/13/2019 at 12:36

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In my dreams... How long will full-scale clay models still be a thing in the design process, I wonder.

Urambo Tauro > and 100 more 02/13/2019 at 12:55

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Fascinating stuff. Makes me wonder how the freehand shaping translates to the digital scan , then translates back to the real world. I find it hard to believe that somebody could just eyeball perfect symmetry between one side and the other . Are they really that good, and the differences are just too minimal for the rest of us shmucks to pick up on? Or d oes the computer have a way of averaging out discrepancies and smoothing out imperfections to provide final dimensions for perfectly mirrored production panels?

and 100 more > Urambo Tauro 02/13/2019 at 13:00

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I was curious too, so I asked a lternate-reality me, and he just smiled and winked and said “trade secret, sorry!”

and 100 more > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 02/13/2019 at 13:04

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I mean, they’ve lasted this long, and while VR modeling is becoming a reality, the benefit of clay is that it can be seen and touched by anyone, the materials are cheap as dirt ( badum-tiss! ) , and incremental changes can be made in real time. And when you’re creating a real-world product, there’s a lot to be said for having a tactile, real-world object to experience. I think it’ll stick around. I could be wrong, tho. 

jimz > Urambo Tauro 02/13/2019 at 13:10

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I’ve seen clays being made, the free-hand shaping is very late in the process. The way these get built are from studio surfaces (CAD data which is used to define the visible surfaces of Class A parts.) The usual process goes like:

1) the model makers take the surfaces and create “offsets” to account for the layer of clay.

2) those offsets create a reduced-size CAD model of the vehicle.

3) a “skateboard” chassis has very large blocks of styrofoam stacked on it which are big enough to surround the vehicle envelope.

4) that stack of foam blocks is rolled into a large gantry (overhead) milling machine, and the parameters of the reduced model are programmed into it.

5) the mill machines the foam to the approximate shape of the vehicle at the reduced size mentioned above.

6) a layer of modeling clay about an inch thick is applied to the exterior of the machined foam.

7) the now-clay-covered property goes back into the mill, and the hardened clay is machined to nearly the net shape of the vehicle, with enough left for the craftspeople to do the hand finishing.

8) Working off of physical templates (created from those studio CAD surfaces) and CMM measurements, the craftspeople use hand tools to shape the surface of the clay to its final intended shape, and smooth it so it can be painted.

9) Once the bare clay model appearance is approved of by the studio, it’s allowed to cure, then primed and painted.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > and 100 more 02/13/2019 at 13:38

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I really hope it sticks around. No faster way to get a 1:1 model that can be viewed with human eyes under natural light. 

and 100 more > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 02/13/2019 at 13:40

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Agreed! Speaking as someone whose trade is creating things on a computer to later be built in real life, there is often a large discrepancy between what is planned and what is built. There is a LOT to be said for tactility. 

Urambo Tauro > jimz 02/13/2019 at 13:44

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Hm, I might have had it backw ards about the scanning then. S ounds like the modeling is all done in CAD before any life-size models are built. So there’s nothing to scan until they’ve already decided what the car’s dimensions will be... ? And therefore t he scanning happening in this video isn’t recording a fine-tuned shape to provide final dimensions for production, but rather checking to ensure that the sculptor’s work is within an already established spec?

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > and 100 more 02/13/2019 at 13:59

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The real trick is being able to communicate the emotion in those first design sketches, laboriously brought to life in the clay model, in the final form.

jimz > Urambo Tauro 02/13/2019 at 13:59

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possibly. another reason might be for digital artwork/media purposes; it can be easier to just order up a scan/CMM of a clay model than to try to convert engineering CAD data to something usable for things like Blender or Forza.

Urambo Tauro > jimz 02/13/2019 at 14:16

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What’s the point of the wind tunnel stuff, though? If the shape is already decided before a physical model is built, then they must have some pretty advanced simulations to do that digitally and not even need a full-scale wind tunnel. But here they are, going to all that trouble anyway. Why? Are they looking for some sort of d ata that can’t be simulated in a computer? Seems pretty late in the process to be testing  the aerodynamics.

jimz > Urambo Tauro 02/13/2019 at 14:26

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Don’t discount the possibility some or many of those scenes were shot specifically for this video ;)

Urambo Tauro > jimz 02/13/2019 at 14:29

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Y’know, n ow that you mention it, t he guy holding the smoke stick was wearing a suit...

Goggles Pizzano > and 100 more 02/15/2019 at 11:38

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Watching this was like watching the best kind of paint dry.