Ford Motor Company is investing $1.3 billion in its Kentucky Truck Plant to support the launch of the all-new 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty truck. As with the Ford F-150, the new Super Duty pickup truck has been improved with advanced materials and continues the company’s commitment to aluminum. The pickup features a high-strength, military-grade, […]
The August 2015 issue of Light Metal Age has launched! The digital edition has been released to subscribers and the print edition will be shipped next week. On the cover: View inside Air Products’ Combustion Lab test furnace during adjustable heat release oxyfuel burner firing. Oxyfuel burner modeling at various set points helped determine the […]
The lightweight concept vehicle represents Ford’s ongoing research for future light-weighting and advanced materials applications, building on the all-new Ford F-150, which sheds up to 700 lbs through use of high-strength aluminum (front sub-frame, high pressure die castings, aluminum brake rotors, etc.) and steel alloys. Lightweighting is a key component of Ford’s Blueprint for Sustainability […]
The assembly line that mass produces the aluminum-bodied 2015 Ford F150 is as innovative as teh truck itself. Two decade in the planning, it features precise computer-modeled stamping, rivets, flow-through screws instead of welds, and scrap recycling. Ford demonstrates these innovations in a new video.
The 3rd Annual Global Automotive Lightweight Materials Detroit (GALM) congress will be held on August 20-21 in Detroit, Michigan. As OEMs seek to develop vehicle lightweighting strategies that will allow them to cost-effectively meet fuel economy targets, they are increasingly shifting their focus to incorporating mixed-material solutions at mass produced scales. The highly anticipated Ford […]
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Ford has performed extreme testing on the new aluminum bodied F-150 trucks to ensure the durability of the trucks over long term, rugged use. These tests range from acid baths to slamming its doors and tailgates to towing trailers over mountain passes. “We wanted to build the toughest, most capable F-150, while making it as […]
Following the introduction of the aluminum-bodied Ford F-150, GM announced that it plans to introduce a largely aluminum-bodied truck by 2018, reports the Wallstreet Journal (WSJ). “The push to develop what the industry calls an ‘aluminum intensive’ large pickup marks an apparent change of direction for GM, which has pursued smaller and lighter weight steel-bodied […]
“Steel Industry Feeling Stress as Automakers Turn to Aluminum” A recent New York Times article, “Steel Industry Feeling Stress as Automakers Turn to Aluminum,” looks at the impact of aluminum’s growth in the automotive on the steel industry. Carmakers’ shift to aluminum has raised apprehension among steel makers, which have been fighting an increasingly uphill battle […]
Part of the Ford Motors F-Series truck lineup, the F-150 has been America’s best-selling truck for 37 consecutive years and America’s best-selling vehicle for 32 years. These “Built Ford Tough” trucks are known for being big and rugged machines. The all-new F-150, featuring an all-aluminum body coupled with the high-strength steel frame, proves that “tough” […]
