Clay (industrial plasticine)
Encyclopedia
Industrial plasticine is a modeling material which is mainly used by automotive design
studios. It was developed as an industrial version of plasticine
or hobby clay.
Industrial plasticine is based on wax
and typically contains sulfur
, which gives a characteristic smell to most artificial clays. Often, the styled object will be used to create molds. However, largely because sulfur can interfere with some mold-making processes, especially if clay surfaces are unsealed surfaces and platinum-cure RTV (room temperature vulcanizing) silicone rubber
is used, sulfur-free variants are now available; these are usually much lighter than sulfur-containing clays.
are not sufficient to evaluate the quality of a design. Therefore 1:4 or even 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 loaded on top of the foam. Modelers then use various tools and slicks to finalise the shape of the car.
Automotive design
Automotive design is the profession involved in the development of the appearance, and to some extent the ergonomics, of motor vehicles or more specifically road vehicles. This most commonly refers to automobiles but also refers to motorcycles, trucks, buses, coaches, and vans...
studios. It was developed as an industrial version of plasticine
Plasticine
Plasticine, a brand of modelling clay, is a putty-like modelling material made from calcium salts, petroleum jelly and aliphatic acids. The name is a registered trademark of Flair Leisure Products plc...
or hobby clay.
Industrial plasticine is based on wax
Wax
thumb|right|[[Cetyl palmitate]], a typical wax ester.Wax refers to a class of chemical compounds that are plastic near ambient temperatures. Characteristically, they melt above 45 °C to give a low viscosity liquid. Waxes are insoluble in water but soluble in organic, nonpolar solvents...
and typically contains sulfur
Sulfur
Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...
, which gives a characteristic smell to most artificial clays. Often, the styled object will be used to create molds. However, largely because sulfur can interfere with some mold-making processes, especially if clay surfaces are unsealed surfaces and platinum-cure RTV (room temperature vulcanizing) silicone rubber
Silicone rubber
Silicone rubber is an elastomer composed of silicone—itself a polymer—containing silicon together with carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Silicone rubbers are widely used in industry, and there are multiple formulations...
is used, sulfur-free variants are now available; these are usually much lighter than sulfur-containing clays.
Design studios
Before a new car model is launched, a long period of finding the right design takes place. Even today, computer modelsComputer-aided industrial design
Computer-aided industrial design is a subset of computer-aided design that includes software that directly helps in product development....
are not sufficient to evaluate the quality of a design. Therefore 1:4 or even 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
Styrofoam
Styrofoam is a trademark of The Dow Chemical Company for closed-cell currently made for thermal insulation and craft applications. In 1941, researchers in Dow's Chemical Physics Lab found a way to make foamed polystyrene...
. Clay is loaded on top of the foam. Modelers then use various tools and slicks to finalise the shape of the car.
Suppliers
There are 2 main producers of industrial plasticine operating worldwide.- StaedtlerStaedtlerStaedtler Mars GmbH & Co. KG is a German fine writing instruments company and one of the world's leading manufacturers and suppliers of writing, artist, and engineering drawing instruments. The firm was founded by J.S. Staedtler in 1835 and produces a large variety of writing instruments, including...
from Germany, which is also known for FIMOFIMOFimo is a name for a brand of polymer clay made by German company Staedtler . Fimo is sold worldwide. Its main U.S. competitor is the American brand Sculpey. The material comes in many different colors; there are many finishes to choose from, and even a softener to use with it because it can be...
. - Chavant, which was founded by the French chemist Claude Chavant and is now located in New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
- Dim Clay, founded by Eduardo Cinta in São PauloSão PauloSão Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
- BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, provide sculpture supplies to all Latin AmericaLatin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
.