2011 Ford Explorer World-Class Craftsmanship

DEARBORN, Mich., July 1;, 2010; When designers at Ford's product development center sat down to sketch out the new 2011 Explorer, the team had a clear objective: Deliver a sleek, modern package, while maintaining the rugged looks of an SUV. But no matter what direction they took the new design, there was one thing that could not be compromised: craftsmanship.

"Every detail of the new Explorer was scrutinized," said Peter Bejin, Ford craftsmanship supervisor. "Craftsmanship - the look, the style, the feel of a well-built vehicle - is a critical step in the design process. It is the key differentiator in a competitive and crowded marketplace."

It's so important that Ford formed a dedicated group of product designers and engineers to focus solely on craftsmanship. The Global Craftsmanship team, based both in Europe and the U.S., worked to ensure that every part, seam, button and dial is perfectly matched so that the vehicle is well crafted, aesthetically pleasing and functional.

The new Explorer's craftsmanship invites its customers to perceive the vehicle with their senses. A consistent and harmonious combination of visual, audible and olfactory characteristics must exceed customers' expectations.

"It's like an orchestra, where many instruments make up the harmonious whole, the precise and pleasant sensory elements in a Ford vehicle work together to create a holistic balance," said Bejin. "This was our mission statement as we developed the new Explorer."

The craftsmanship process begins very early in the vehicle's development. Designers start upstream by looking at all their data in the virtual world on a computer screen long before the vehicle is seen in its full form as a prototype.

Closing the gap

When the vehicle body is first built in a prototype phase, quality tests begin. On the Explorer, engineers used a highly accurate laser wand to check the placement and measurement of more than 500 connection points on the vehicle body to make sure the full physical design of the body matched the virtual computer version.

"In the prototype phase, we examine and scrutinize every touch point on the vehicle that our engineers have deemed important to quality," said Matt Machala, tooling/dimensional control engineer. "This is so we can trace any quality issues before the vehicle leaves the body shop."

Machala and his crew also measure the pressure and sealings on the vehicle doors, making sure they open and shut firmly and correctly. They measure the margin of fit of the body panels, assuring that the seams and gaps where parts come together are no wider than 3.7 millimeters or about the width of two stacked nickels, Machala said.

"That's the kind of thing that customers really notice," Machala explained. "It's not just about aesthetics; they want a vehicle that's put together well."

No air leaks means a quiet ride

A key aspect of perceived quality is sound, or the absence of sound. A noisy interior cabin caused by wind or other external disturbances upset the sense of sound. Ford has gone to great lengths to minimize wind noise by using high-tech devices that can pinpoint noise from wind and other sources entering the vehicle.

One unsung hero in this process is an air leakage test performed at different stages throughout the production of the new Explorer. Eliminating air leaks begins with virtual design checks on the computer and then continues with validation tests after the body has been built.

To test for air leaks, engineers must first remove air from the vehicle's interior cabin. A test vehicle is randomly selected and pulled from the assembly line after it's been through the paint process, but before its trim parts are added. All of the openings to the interior cabin of the vehicle are sealed with sheets of Plexiglas that match the shape of the opening to create an airtight seal. A vacuum-like machine with hose attached is secured to a hole in the Plexiglas through which air is either suctioned from or pumped in to the cabin, depending on the test.

Engineers then crawl through the cabin using a stethoscope type listening device to check for air coming in or out of the vehicle's cabin. They also use a mini-camera on a cord that enables them to look into spaces otherwise inaccessible. This process is repeated once more once the vehicle is fully assembled.

"Reducing air leaks helps us deliver that quiet ride that today's customers expect and deserve," said Jason Griffin, air leakage noise, vibration and harshness engineer. "So we use our ears and our tools, and we look and we listen to make sure we have a tightly sealed passenger cabin."

Taking the process a step further, the team even has developed an innovative new weapon in its arsenal against air leakage -thermal camera photography teamed with heated air, which pinpoints the exact location the air leak is occurring.

"Typically, we would pump air into or evacuate air out of the vehicle, and then listen for air coming in or out, and that's how we detect the issues," Griffin said. "But recently we devised a method where we can heat the air, so when we blow air out of the cabin with our vacuum, a hot spot appears on the camera pointing to the leak in the sheet metal."

Engineers also perform air leakage tests on vehicles in their finished state with all the interior, exterior, chassis and powertrain components installed to further ensure a quiet ride for customers.

Perfect parts, perfect body

The craftsmanship checks continue as Explorer moves forward in its development process. At Chicago Assembly Plant, where Explorer soon will roll off the assembly lines, operators and product engineers work together with suppliers to conduct a test known as the trim coordination build.

To ensure that all of the new Explorer's trim parts from suppliers match Ford's specifications, engineers use a dimensionally-correct aluminum version of the vehicle, called an environmental cube or "e-cube," to attach all of the trim parts onto like a puzzle. Inside and out, each individual part that makes up the style, shape and look of the new Explorer is attached to the e-cube such as the grille front, bumper fascias, instrument panel and other parts are hung onto the test sheet metal to make sure each fits perfectly.

"What we're doing is making sure that all of our trim parts fit correctly early in the process," Bejin said. "So you have your fascia, your scuff plates, your headliner, your seats, your carpet - everything. You can build the whole thing out like a life-sized puzzle. We're making sure that each part is what it needs to be dimensionally on a mock model before it's considered a good part for assembly on the real product."

That means it fits well - to within a razor-thin 1/10th of a millimeter of the computer design - ensuring tight-fitting trim parts with no unsightly gaps.

"We want all the fits on our vehicle to be world-class," Bejin said. "We want our craftsmanship to be a part of our showroom competitiveness."

FORD ADDS SOY FOAM SEAT CUSHIONS TO FORD EXPLORER; EXPANDS USE OF ECO-FRIENDLY MATERIAL ACROSS LINEUP

DEARBORN, Mich., June 23, 2010 – The 2011 Ford Explorer will feature soy foam in seat cushions and seatbacks. The bio-based polyurethane foam will be one of the new, eco-friendly features in the Ford Explorer which goes in to production later this year.

“The new Explorer will deliver fuel economy at least 25 percent better than the current model as well as include sustainable materials like soy foam seat cushions and other eco-friendly features we will detail soon,” said Amy Marentic, group marketing manager, Ford cars and CUVs. “Consumers will be pleasantly surprised they can get all these new features without having to sacrifice the capability, utility and safety they want for their families and adventures.”

The addition of soy foam in the Explorer expands Ford Motor Company’s commitment to using more sustainable materials in all its vehicles. By year’s end, nearly 100 percent of Ford’s North American vehicle lineup will feature the eco-friendly material.

Ford has more models with seats that use bio foam than any other automaker. The 2011 Explorer will become the 23rd model to feature soy foam. To date, Ford Taurus, Mustang, F-150, Focus, Flex, Crown Victoria, Escape, Edge, Expedition and Econoline, as well as Mercury Mariner and Grand Marquis, Lincoln MKS, MKX, MKT and Navigator use the sustainable material. In addition to Explorer, the Fusion, Fiesta, F-250/F-350 Super Duty, Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKZ will get soy foam by the end of 2010.

Soy foam has helped Ford reduce its annual petroleum oil usage by more than 3 million pounds, and is up to 24 percent more renewable than petroleum-based foam. The use of soy foam also has helped Ford reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 11 million pounds as the biomaterial provides a 67 percent reduction in volatile organic compounds emissions.

“Soy foam is just the tip of the iceberg in the development of vehicle materials from natural resources,” said Debbie Mielewski, Ford polymer technical leader. “We have to entertain the thought of bio-replacement in baby steps, looking at every aspect of a car that could be green. One day I hope to see the automotive world go totally compostable, removing the use of petroleum-based parts 100 percent.”

A sustainable solution

Ford was the first automaker to demonstrate soy-based foams could be formulated to pass stringent requirements for automotive applications, pioneering its use in seats for the 2008 Ford Mustang and in headliners for the 2010 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner.

Ford and supplier Lear Corporation have earned several prestigious awards, including the Society of Plastic Engineers’ Innovation Award and R&D Magazine’s annual R&D 100 Award for development and use of soy-based foam in vehicles.

The use of soy foam in automotive applications also supports American farmers. Todd Allen, an Arkansas soybean farmer, called Ford’s innovative use of soy foam a “huge success.” Allen is a former chair of the United Soybean Board’s New Uses Committee, which oversees crop-related investments of all U.S. soybean farmers and works closely with companies like Ford in an effort to get soy-based technology commercialized.

“American farmers export more than 50 percent of the soybeans grown in the U.S., and we have an oversupply of soybean oil,” Allen said. “So there is plenty of capacity in the soybean industry for both food and industrial use.”

Ford also has capitalized on its greener material technologies by licensing its soy-based foam to companies such as Deere & Company for agricultural applications. Ford continues to research the use of other renewable sources for foam, including palm, grape seed and sunflower oil in markets around the world where those commodities are locally available and cost effective.