Mexican Media Brands
Ford Begins Testing Carbon Fiber Subframe from Magna
Ford Motor Co. has begun validation tests on a prototype carbon fiber composite subframe co-developed with Magna International Inc.
Share
Ford Motor Co. has begun validation tests on a prototype carbon fiber composite subframe co-developed with Magna International Inc.
Ford is testing the system in a Fusion midsize sedan. Magna tells Automotive News that the carmaker will decide by year-end whether to put the assembly into production.
Carbon fiber is strong but also brittle compared with high-strength steel. Magna says its design can absorb only 5% of the energy involved in a front-end crash. The company acknowledges that steel and perhaps other metals would be required to meet crash standards.
Magna tells AN that side doors may be a more likely, though also challenging, next application for carbon fiber. The material is already used in rear liftgates, where crash energy absorption isn’t a big performance issue.
RELATED CONTENT
-
On the Genesis GV80, Acura MDX, BMW iDrive and more
From Genesis to Lamborghini, from Bosch to Acura: new automotive developments.
-
Choosing the Right Fasteners for Automotive
PennEngineering makes hundreds of different fasteners for the automotive industry with standard and custom products as well as automated assembly solutions. Discover how they’re used and how to select the right one. (Sponsored Content)
-
On Traffic Jams, Vehicle Size, Building EVs and more
From building electric vehicles—and training to do so—to considering traffic and its implication on drivers and vehicle size—there are plenty of considerations for people and their utilization of technology in the industry.
