The Building Blocks of Design

Posted October 23, 2009

by Community Admin1

The Concerto is a multi-award winning sustainable modular vehicle concept from RCA student, Hong K Yeo. Experience Manufacturing's Frances Corbet talked to Yeo about how a mix of Autodesk Alias and traditional model making helped realise his vision.

^{Figure 1: Conceptual design sketches of the Concerto}

At the recent Royal College of Art’s annual Vehicle Design MA degree show, each of the models from the fifteen graduating students demonstrated a unique response to the changing landscape of personal transport. One concept in particular that stood out was Hong K Yeo’s Concerto. Sponsored by Autodesk, this modular ‘build-your-own-car’ concept offers something quite different from the sleek curves and futuristic styling you come to expect from most student designers.

"It was a monumental risk and quite controversial because almost everything about the project was different from traditional projects from car design schools," explains Yeo. "From the materials to the way it is manufactured, and even the scale (at 1/6th of a real car) was very different. I think everyone wanted to see something that broke the traditional ‘car design’ language into something meaningful and fun."

^{Autodesk AutoStudio was used for simulation and exploration inside a 3D environment to make sure that the concept would work and all the parts would fit in real life}

Yeo was born in South Korea and from an early age he knew he was meant to be a car designer. Having graduated from the vehicle design course at the College of Creative Studies in Detroit, he went on to work for General Motors in 2002. However, after just a year he had to return to his home country to fulfil two years of military service. But his love for car design didn’t wane and having completed his duty he applied to London’s prestigious Royal College of Art (RCA).

During his two-year masters course Yeo discovered that there was far more to vehicle design than merely styling. "One of the first things I learned at the RCA was that car design is looking beyond the looks of the car and is about thinking about the meaning, solving problems, and having great passion for what you do," comments Yeo. "Anyone can design a pretty car, but it takes a great designer to really design something that everyone will remember."

^{Autodesk Showcase was used to see exactly what the concept car could look like when made in different materials, including wood, steel and plastic}

Design inspiration

Yeo wanted his final year project to be a sustainable design but for him this involves far more than just adding new materials or technologies into an existing design in order to make it sustainable. "It seems every designer today is busy trying to discover the next great eco-material or the next great technology that would be more responsible than what we have today, but unless you look at the product in its entirety, we will still have the same issues, just a little bit greener," argues Yeo. So, he drew inspiration from what he deems to be one of the most sustainable designs around - the humble Lego brick. Although it may not necessarily be made out of the most sustainable material, it has certainly been designed to last and it’s not unusual to find Lego bricks from the 1960s still fitting together perfectly with new pieces. Yeo wondered if a car could be constructed in a similar fashion with the different panels and components all fitting together like Lego. Then, at the end of its life, it could be dismantled and recycled.

Further inspiration came from travelling around the streets of London, a city that Yeo fell in love with, especially for the way in which old and new can live quite happily side by side. In fact, the brand new block of flats he lives in is connected to a pub that dates back to 1444. "I began to understand London and see the city in a completely different way. There were layers according to function and different elements living harmoniously together," he comments. "I began asking why we can’t look at a car in different sections according to its function? Why can’t an interior be a natural environment made from natural materials? Why can’t we use aluminium for the whole power plant or flexible plastic for storage?"

^{Autodesk Showcase helped Yeo visualise what the car would look like in a range of different real-life environments.}

His design was also influenced by the time he spent at Volkswagen on internship during the summer of 2008. Volkswagen had subsequently gone on to sponsor Yeo’s studies and many of his concepts and theories for his Concerto car are a reflection of his time spent there. For instance, he wanted the owner to form an attachment to their car and feel proud of it. His vision was for it to ‘grow’ with them meaning they could customise it by adding new panels or exchange old panels for newer ones depending on their needs at the time.

"You can start with a short-wheelbase two-seater upon graduating from college. Once you get married you can start to expand your vehicle by adding new pieces. If you get divorced you can get rid of pieces, or if you need to start delivering pizzas because of the divorce, you can add a custom ‘pizza delivery’ piece to your car," says Yeo, smiling.

Skills to pay the bills

With the RCA’s computer room running Autodesk Alias Automotive (formerly AutoStudio) and Showcase, sophisticated design tools were at his fingertips. Over the years the college has also established a good relationship with Majenta Academy, an Autodesk authorised training centre, that offers students support and hands-on training. "Last year they came down to our school to give a workshop. I’ve been using Alias for the past ten years or so, but I was able to learn so many new tools that made my life so much easier, and it was an environment where I could ask any questions I had," says Yeo.

^{The physical model was created by London-based Morpheus Creative Development and consisted of over 380 parts made out of a range of materials including wood.}

Every year Autodesk also sponsors one vehicle design student and having been approached by his senior tutor about this, Yeo gave a presentation of his project to Autodesk and subsequently received the sponsorship. "Unlike most sponsorships, the Autodesk sponsorship involved much more than just supporting my physical prototype. Autodesk was able to show me new ways of evaluating and presenting my work from their Alias and Showcase software though Majenta Academy," he says. As a result, through the use of digital technology, Yeo has been able to visualise his concept very early on in the design process.

"I think there is a general misconception about 3D tools in the design community today," he comments. "Designers tend to think 3D computer tools are a simple replacement for clay modelling after the design is finalised, but it has so much more potential and advantages that aren’t really being used in the early design stage. 3D tools today are so much faster and easier to use and can produce incredibly accurate renderings." According to Yeo, Alias Automotive, which is part of the Alias product line-up and specifically for use by automotive designers, is an excellent tool. It’s sophisticated and accurate enough to do Class-A surfacing but is also easy to use when producing realistic renderings. "I don’t think there is a more flexible tool for designers to create the exact surface that they want," comments Yeo. "It is a tool that can communicate between engineering and design."

Given the unique design and layout of his vehicle, Yeo did a great deal of simulation and exploration inside a 3D environment making sure that his concept would work in real life. By creating all the pieces and then assembling them onto the two metal bars that form the backbone to the car he could quickly see whether they would fit or not and if any adjustments needed to be made.

"Some of the adjustments were quite dramatic like the rear metal sections because it had to clear the heads of the rear-passengers and hold the bar that opens the gullwing doors," he explains.

Yeo then used the 3D CAD data from Alias and brought it into Showcase in order to see exactly what the car could look like when made in different materials, including wood, steel and plastic. "I knew I wanted to use a lot of wood because it was important to make the car look as light as possible. I wanted to see how the car would look visually balanced if I used different types of wood and its finish.

"From Showcase I could see that a glossy finish would make the car appear a bit heavy, which is why the actual model was finished in satin," comments Yeo. "The same goes for the metal pieces. The car had a completely different character when the metal pieces were chromed, brushed, sandblasted, polished and tinted. I settled for a soft sandblasted finish because of the large area of the front. It took just a few minutes to see a whole range of combinations in Showcase, but it took much longer to choose because I had so many choices!"

Majenta Academy was also on hand to show Yeo how to make his model look as realistic as possible through the use of the software’s new animation and diverse visual rendering tools. Majenta’s specialists also showed him how to adjust the settings and gave him tips on creating the perfect shot. As a result, Yeo could see what his model would look like in a range of different real-life environments such as in a studio, on a highway or on the beach. "From Alias the exact dimensions were used as it would be in real life and it was constantly checked visually with Showcase where I could visualise the entire car with all the materials in different environments and even do short animations to make sure all the moving parts made sense," says Yeo.

^{The model from various angles.}

From digital to reality

With the design finalised Autodesk then helped fund the creation of the physical model, which was created by London-based model makers Morpheus Creative Development. Yeo converted his Alias data into an IGES file and handed it over to them. "Some of the data they needed was in 3D format like the seat pieces or the tyres and some were 2D vector data, which they were all able to extract from the file I gave them. I was amazed at the compatibility and accuracy of my data files," he says. Although this was a 1/6 scale prototype Yeo still wanted the production methods to be as close to the real world manufacturing techniques as possible. So several different methods were experimented with including waterjet cutting, laser cutting, CNC machining, rapid prototyping and vacuum-forming.

"Waterjet cutting proved to be quite difficult with wood because the edges of the softer woods would split at the end," he says. "Laserjet cuts were very cheap and very precise, but the burnt edges created a visual dilemma. However, both problems could be solved easily if it went into a real production."

In the end the model consisted of over 380 parts but many of these could be manufactured in one turnaround and common pieces were also used to save needless machine time.

"We were running on a very tight schedule, but I was able to make any changes that were necessary due to material constraints or manufacturing constraints in real time. The effective and prompt communication with the model makers is what really made the difference for me," says Yeo.

In addition, there were some pleasant surprises that arose during this stage, such as the actual working suspension and the general weight of the model, which, including all the accessories, weighed no more than 2kg.

In total the project took six months and after a great deal of hard work and late nights it went on display at the degree show. Yeo has received much praise and has even received a number of awards including the Worshipful Company of Carmen Transport Design Award 2009 as well as the prestigious Pilkington Automotive Vehicle Design Award for Best Design Interpretation.

"The Concerto was born out of a very tough climate and I wanted the project to be something positive, something simple and light so that people could see it and smile," explains Yeo. "Watching and talking to both non-enthusiasts and enthusiasts about cars and what cars meant to them at the show was simply a breath of fresh air. The project was a ray of hope in a time of difficulty."

Now that Yeo has graduated he is obviously keen to get a job in automotive design and has currently been going for interviews in the US and Canada. "I would like nothing more than to be working in a car studio. There’s something about cars that are just emotional and exciting," he says. "Car companies have shown a lot of excitement and interest for the Concerto and I sincerely hope it is a start of something special."

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