Sound pictures help Ford engineers block auto noise

Ford Motor Co. is using a high-tech noise imaging system to locate and address squeaks and rattles in its cars, and the effort has been paying off, engineers said during a presentation Thursday.

The system, called Noise Vision, uses 30 highly sensitive microphones and 12 cameras to create a sonic sound map that allows engineers to quickly find — and root out — the source of the noise.

While Ford declined to say how much it paid for the system, engineers said it is part of goal set by Derrick Kuzak, Ford’s group vice president of global product development, to make noise reduction a priority for all its vehicles.

“His vision is that every Ford that we make is to be remarkably quiet, and this is one of the tools that we have to achieve that,” said John Nalevanko, a wind-noise technical specialist for Ford. “If there are little annoying noises in the car, it’s unlikely that our customers will be satisfied.”

Ford said the plan has allowed the company to reduce vehicle testing in its expensive wind tunnel by more than 200 hours — saving the company an estimated $300,000. Ford has been using the system for more than two years.

Before Ford bought the system from Nittobo Acoustic Engineering of Tokyo engineers would tape or remove parts one-by-one to identify the source of a particular noise, Nalevanko said. Now, a process that might have taken a day can be accomplished in a half-hour. – Freep

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