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Ford Mondeo Facelift Showcar |
Bumper Development Facelift Show Car
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A Fresh New Look on Europe’s Roads
Ford is giving the Mondeo a facelift in order to cash in on the success of last year’s Titanium special edition, which was a sell-out. The new-look Mondeo hit the streets right on schedule in the summer of 2005.
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Project scope
Acting as engineering service provider for Ford and various system suppliers, it took Bertrandt in Cologne only six months to transform the required modifications into CAD data. The project included the front bumper and bumper grille, the radiator grille and frame, the side indicators, the rear lights for the saloon model and the rear bumper for the saloon and Turnier estate models.
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New clay bumpers form the basis for design freshening
By means of the CAS (computer-aided styling) data for the new bumper provided by Ford, Bertrandt in Ehningen milled a full-size clay model of the existing bumper. The responsible Ford bumper stylist then worked together on a daily basis with the design modelling team members at Bertrandt in Cologne to refine the bumper shape and to incorporate any necessary technical changes to its shape.
Model approval ensures early "styling freeze"
During this phase, a Bertrandt development team working in parallel pressed ahead with the process of testing the model for technical feasibility and adherence to legal requirements. The styling freeze milestone was reached only two months after the start of the project.
Network develops exterior shape
Subsequently, the Bertrandt surface design teams in Cologne and Dunton began working in ICEM-Surf. Using virtual reality techniques, Bertrandt was able to demonstrate the progress made on the surface design every week to the Mondeo team on the power wall at the Ford Design Centre in Cologne. After a further two months, the milestone for the completion of the exterior shape was reached.
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Component development and testing for system suppliers
During this development phase, Bertrandt in Cologne was commissioned by the system suppliers to develop a range of components. As a result, it was possible to incorporate the specific tool requirements into a development process for the exterior shape without data being lost or time being wasted. The CAD models of the components already produced by the associated teams were adapted on the basis of the completed surface design data by Bertrandt Cologne’s exterior team using the CAD system I-DEAS. By the end of October 2004 they were ready for delivery to the tool manufacturers.
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In February 2005, the first components produced in one step were ready and therefore the testing phase could start. Bertrandt was also responsible for testing various components. For example, all the bumpers and grilles were subjected to comprehensive environment simulations by Bertrandt in Wolfsburg. This involved constructing special testing and assembly equipment that allowed the bumpers to be placed in the mounted position shown in the drawings. The assembled parts were then measured in their mounted position using 3D measurement technology, and the results were documented.
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Bertrandt Wolfsburg carried out thorough tests of the bumper components.
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Selective checks of the components using photogrammatic measurement techniques were carried out before, during and after the tests. The option of carrying out a spatial scan of the entire surface of all the components and then representing them using colour flow diagrams was also available.
Project ending with show car
The project ended with the construction of a show car for Ford, which was completed within a deadline of two weeks. Once again, the different service areas of the Bertrandt Engineering Network were involved. Bertrandt Cologne is proud to have contributed to another chapter in the Mondeo success story.
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