Mexican Media Brands
Ford, Dow to Partner on Carbon-Fiber Research
Ford Motor Co. and the Dow Automotive Systems unit of Dow Chemical Co. have agree to collaborate in a quest to find ways to use carbon-fiber composites in high-volume production vehicles.
Share
Ford Motor Co. and the Dow Automotive Systems unit of Dow Chemical Co. have agree to collaborate in a quest to find ways to use carbon-fiber composites in high-volume production vehicles.
Dow will focus on materials research and high-volume polymer processing methods. Ford will concentrate on vehicle component design and mass-production techniques.
Ford hopes to use high-strength, low-weight carbon-fiber-reinforced materials to help reach a goal of reducing new-vehicle weight by as much as 750 lbs by 2020. The company says its vehicles could begin using components made of such materials about four years from now assuming the partnership is successful.
Supercars and race cars use carbon-fiber composites now, and the material has become a common element in concept cars. Interest in the material has surged as carmakers look for ways to meet future fuel economy standards in the U.S. and Europe. But carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic remains far too costly for high-volume production vehicles.
Last year BMW AG formed a $340 million venture with Germany's SGL Carbon SE and its automotive fibers affiliate to make carbon fibers in the U.S. and use them in plastic components made in Germany. BMW has said it believes the material could offset most of the weight of the electric powertrain in such vehicles as the i3 EV and i8 plug-in hybrid models it plans to introduce in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
RELATED CONTENT
-
Jeeps Modified for Moab
On Easter morning in Moab, Utah, when the population of that exceedingly-hard-to-get-to town in one of the most beautiful settings on Earth has more than doubled, some people won’t be hunting for Easter eggs, but will be trying to get a good look at one of the vehicles six that Jeep has prepared for real-life, fast-feedback from the assembled at the annual Easter Jeep Safari.
-
Cobots: 14 Things You Need to Know
What jobs do cobots do well? How is a cobot programmed? What’s the ROI? We asked these questions and more to four of the leading suppliers of cobots.
-
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)
