Industrial plasticine is a modeling material which is mainly used by automotive design studios. It was developed as an industrial version of

plasticine Plasticine is a putty-like modelling material made from calcium salts, petroleum jelly and aliphatic acids. Though originally a brand name for the British version of the product, it is now applied generically in English as a product categor ...

or hobby clay. Industrial plasticine is based on wax and typically contains

sulfur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formul ...

, which gives a characteristic smell to most artificial clays. The styled object can be used to create moulds. However, largely because sulfur interfered with some mould-making processes, especially if clay surfaces are unsealed surfaces and platinum-cure Room Temperature Vulcanization silicone was used, sulfur-free variants are now available; these are usually much lighter than sulfur-containing clays. More recently, clay models are 3D scanned into a digital file using laser technology. This is then opened in

Computer-aided design Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve ...

software to be worked further. If a negative mold is required, this data is sent to a

milling machine Milling is the process of machining using rotary cutters to remove material by advancing a cutter into a workpiece. This may be done by varying direction on one or several axes, cutter head speed, and pressure. Milling covers a wide variety of d ...

Design studios

Before a new car model is launched, a long period of creating the right design takes place. Even today,

computer models Computer simulation is the process of mathematical modelling, performed on a computer, which is designed to predict the behaviour of, or the outcome of, a real-world or physical system. The reliability of some mathematical models can be deter ...

are not sufficient to evaluate a design. Therefore 1:4 and then 1:1 models are built to get an impression of the final car. These models are created in clay, and usually consist of a wooden or iron frame which is covered with Styrofoam. Clay is smoothed over the foam. Modellers then use various tools and slicks to finalize the shape of the car, since changes are readily possible.

Suppliers

There are 2 main producers of industrial plasticine operating worldwide. *

Staedtler Staedtler Mars GmbH & Co. KG () is a German multinational stationery manufacturing company based in Nuremberg. The firm was founded by J.S. Staedtler (1800–1872) in 1835 and produces a large variety of stationery products, such as writing impl ...

from Germany, which is also known for

FIMO Fimo is a brand of polymer clay made by German company Staedtler (''STAEDTLER Mars GmbH & Co. KG''). Fimo is sold worldwide. Its main U.S. competitor is the American brand Sculpey. The material comes in many different colors; there are many fi ...

. * Chavant, which was founded by the French chemist Claude Chavant and is now located in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

, USA.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plasticine, industrial Vehicle design