Ford Pro’s Clever 3D-Printed Tool Helps Make Transit Even More Reliable
Most daily drivers change gears dozens of times. But for Transits, making deliveries, that can soon multiply. We are constantly looking for ways to improve uptime for the world’s best-selling cargo van. Now, we have developed a way of manufacturing the Transit gearbox to make it even more reliable.
During the production process, components within the gearbox are heated to temperatures of up to 820°C to harden and toughen them. Traditionally, this has been achieved using a tool assembled from 10 different pieces. However, this one-piece 3D-printed copper tool optimises the heat distribution for an even stronger part.
The quality of this part is essential because it’s one of the main characteristics that the customer feels in our product. So if you do the shifting our synchroniser sleeve shifts in the gear and then starts rotating it, and that’s when you can start accelerating.
We came up with the idea of using 3D printing with copper metal to find out a way to make actually one part out of the ten. Copper is not a material that is usually used for 3D printing, and that’s why it was such a challenge for us.
And we are very proud that we were able to make it. The advantages of using a 3D printed inductor are, for instance, using green energy. We can use solar cells on our rooftops to create the energy which we need. And we also have environmental benefits because
If we 3D print a part, we do not have to solder it. We’ve been using it since May 2022 to produce thousands of Transit gearboxes. This clever idea earned the team our prestigious Henry Ford Technology Award for manufacturing
And could one day be applied to the coming wave of EVs. Helping to keep drivers on the move for decades to come.
Most drivers change gears dozens of times during a single journey, but for working Transit vans, especially those making deliveries, that can soon multiply. Ford Pro is always looking to help maximise uptime for its customers. Now, we have come up with a clever way of ensuring the world’s best-selling cargo van is even more reliable.
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