Additive manufacturing continues to make inroads in industry, as Ford opens new manufacturing center

Ford additive-manufacturing team members Eric Kouba and Rob Salenbien inspect a 3D-printed F-150 grill at Ford’s Advanced Manufacturing Center.

Manufacturing companies big and small are opening facilities or devoting space in existing facilities to advanced technologies, such as additive manufacturing and virtual reality. Ford Motor Co. is among the most recent to join the movement, when, on Dec. 4, it opened its Advanced Manufacturing Center (AMC) in Redford, Mich.

The automaker’s $45 million investment co-locates approximately 100 advanced-manufacturing-technology experts and their specialized equipment in one open space. Work done at the AMC, near Detroit, will include improving the company’s 3D printing of prototypes and its capabilities in the areas of virtual reality and robotics. Tested and proved-out innovations will be implemented at auto plants around the globe.

The AMC is stocked with 23 3D printers; Ford currently is working with 10 3D-printer companies. The automotive company said these partnerships allow it to develop applications with different materials─from sand to nylon powder to carbon. One additive application under development reportedly has the potential to save the company more than $2 million.

Ford already installs 3D-printed parts in vehicles. The soon-to-be-revealed Shelby Mustang GT500 features two 3D-printed brake parts, and the F-150 Raptor pickup built for the Chinese market includes a 3D-printed interior part.

As 3D printing becomes more affordable, 3D parts will become more prevalent, said Ford.The company, which purchased the third 3D printer ever made, in 1988, now operates 90 3D printers globally that produce parts and tools. On the shop floor, workers team with advanced-manufacturing experts to identify ways to save the company time and money, including how to 3D-print replacement parts to keep lines running instead of waiting for parts that can take weeks to be fabricated.

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