We were curious to discover how a car manufacturer can address sustainability issues within the additive manufacturing industry and Ford has just shared how. What’s interesting in this story is that it is the opposite of what we are used to seeing in the industry. It’s easy to see waste from other industries being turned into 3D printed products but we rarely see waste from 3D printed products being turned into another product. And that’s the approach of Ford and HP here.
Both companies that share the same vision for a more sustainable industry, have decided to reuse spent 3D printed powders and parts by transforming them into injection molded vehicle parts.
As you may guess, Ford has equipped its US-based Advanced Manufacturing Center with a fleet of HP’s 3D printers. The car manufacturer utilizes AM for the production of low-volume commercial vehicle parts, as well as fixtures used by assembly line workers.
According to HP, its industrial machines are designed in a way that they minimize the excess material they generate and reuse a greater percentage of the materials put into them.
However, despite the efficiency of a manufacturing equipment, the fact is, there is always an amount of material that will be left apart at the end of the production.
In this case, Ford has decided to reuse the recycled materials to produce injection-molded fuel-line clips installed first on Super Duty F-250 trucks. The company explains in a press communication that, the parts have better chemical and moisture resistance than conventional versions, are 7% lighter and cost 10% less.
According to the Ford research team, 10 other fuel-line clips on existing vehicles could benefit from this innovative use of material.
“Finding new ways to work with sustainable materials, reducing waste and leading the development of the circular economy are passions at Ford,” said Debbie Mielewski, Ford technical fellow, Sustainability. “Many companies are finding great uses for 3D printing technologies, but, together with HP, we’re the first to find a high-value application for waste powder that likely would have gone to landfill, transforming it into functional and durable auto parts.”
In addition to HP’s technology, it should be noted that, Ford also explores various 3D printing applications using various materials including filaments, sand, powders and liquid vat polymerization. Its ultimate goal is to achieve 100% sustainable materials in its vehicles.
“A key to achieving our sustainability goals and solving the broader problems of society is working with other like-minded companies – we can’t do it alone,” Mielewski said. “With HP, we defined the waste problem, solved technical challenges and found a solution in less than one year, which is something in which we all take pride.”
Among the companies that have supported Ford and HP as part of this project, there are SmileDirectClub, an oral care company that operates the largest facility of HP 3D printing systems in the U.S. With over 40,000 aligners produced per day, the resulting used 3D printed parts are collected and recycled with HP to increase volume for Ford.
Thereafter, resin producer Lavergne, a longtime recycling partner of HP, transforms those molds and discarded powder from Ford’s HP 3D printers into high-quality recycled plastic pellets, suitable for injection molding.
Lastly, the pellets are then molded into fuel-line clips by Ford supplier ARaymond, who designs, engineers and manufactures assembly systems.Remember, you can post job opportunities in the AM Industry on 3D ADEPT Media free of charge or look for a job via our job board. Make sure to follow us on our social networks and subscribe to our weekly newsletter : Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn & Instagram ! If you want to be featured in the next issue of our digital magazine or if you hear a story that needs to be heard, make sure to send it to contact@3dadept.com