Hold on to your cup! Even the cupholders were redesigned for the new 2017 #Ford #Fusion. https://t.co/LKCdXg8yj1 pic.twitter.com/FKKdCOQyM1
— Ford Motor Company (@Ford) April 29, 2016
Who knew cup holders were a serious enough detail to warrant testing by a tactical robot arm?
Ford believes that every detail, no matter how small, deserves their full engineering attention. After all, if something is done right, you may not notice anything has been done at all. When done wrong, well... even a tiny detail can become insufferable.
When redesigning the 2017 Ford Fusion, Ford's engineers had a chance to redesign the cup holders as well.
To make sure the cup holders were large enough to fit a 30-ounce fast-food restaurant soft drink, as well as a narrow half-liter water bottle (two of the most popular beverages for American drivers), Ford uses spring-loaded resistance grips. To test these grips, Ford uses RUTH.
RUTH is a tactical robot arm, which can measure how much effort it takes to insert a bottle into a cup holder, and how much tension is exerted on a cup by the grips. This allows engineers to calibrate the resistance grips to match customer preferences for feel.
Why go through all this effort?
"Being dissatisfied with your cup holders may be a minor annoyance, but it's a daily one, which over time detracts from the overall car experience," says Jolanta Coffey, Ford instrument panel and console manager. "On the other hand, when you like your cup holders, they can make your vehicle feel like home."
Visit Wilson Motors to test drive new Ford vehicles designed and tested to make you fall in love at first drive.
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