Ford Developing New Technology for Low-Volume Automotive Applications

Detroit-based automaker Ford has developed a new technology that will allow engineers to rapidly form sheet metal parts for low-volume production applications.

The company says that, once developed, the new technology “will allow for lower costs and ultrafast delivery times for prototypes”, which will take only three business days instead of the “anywhere from two to six months” span provided by present day conventional methods.

“The F3T sheet metal forming process is one of many advanced manufacturing technologies under development at Ford,” said Randy Visintainer, director of Ford Research and Innovation. “We developed this process during the past four years for small-scale applications in a laboratory setting, and the DOE award enables us to scale the process for larger applications and a full prove-out for manufacturing feasibility.”