Ford and HP will reuse waste from 3D printing to produce car parts. The parts will be converted into new components using injection moulding.
This involves reusing powder for 3D printing on the one hand, and recycling 3D-printed components on the other. The parties claim that this is the first time in the industry that a closed-loop process has been created in which the waste from the 3D printing process is reused. The process relieves the environment, according to Ford without compromising on sustainability or quality standards.
Clamps for fuel lines
The recycled materials will be used to injection-mould clamps for fuel lines. These will be installed on Ford's Super Duty F-250 pick-up trucks. The US car manufacturer claims that these parts are more resistant to chemicals and moisture than conventional clamps. At the same time, they are 7% lighter and 10% cheaper.
The clamps will eventually be used in other Ford models. Ten other clamps for fuel lines on Ford vehicles have been identified by the carmaker's research team that can be replaced with them.
"Many companies are finding great applications for 3D printing technologies. However, in collaboration with HP, we are the first to find a valuable use for residual powder that would otherwise have mattered in the landfill. We are transforming this into functional and sustainable automotive parts," says Debbie Mielewski, Ford technical fellow, Sustainability.
3D printers from HP
HP will supply the 3D printers used for the printing process. These are printers that can already reuse some of the powder used as standard. In collaboration with Ford, this 3D printing technology has been further developed into a solution that no longer produces waste. The technology is deployed at Ford's Advanced Manufacturing Centre.
"You get more sustainable production processes using 3D. However, we always strive for more and drive our industry to find new ways to reduce, reuse and recycle powders and parts," explained Ellen Jackowski, chief sustainability & social impact officer at HP. "Our partnership with Ford further enhances the environmental benefits of 3D printing and shows how we are bringing completely different sectors together for better utilisation of used materials, enabling a new circular economy."
Partner's prints will also be reused
The project also involves three other companies. For example, oral care organisation SmileDirectClub produces more than 40,000 devices per day. These are collected after use and recycled by HP, increasing the production volume for Ford.
Also involved is Lavergne, producer of resin for 3D printing and a partner of HP. Lavergne converts used powder from Ford's 3D printers into high-quality plastic pellets, which can be used for injection moulding. Final injection moulding takes place at ARaymond, a supplier to Ford.
Active in 3D printing for years
3D printing is certainly nothing new for Ford. Back in 2019, the company showcased a number of parts it had 3D-printed for production vehicles. Ford used 3D printing technology from the American company Carbon for this. The parts included a bracket for the air conditioning in a Ford Focus, a plug for the Ford F-150 Raptor and a mount for the electric parking brake on the Ford Mustang GT500.
In the same year, the American car manufacturer also announced that it had produced an aluminium injector nozzle using a 3D printer. The nozzle is intended for the Hoonitruck, a modified 1977 Ford F-150. The nozzle was developed by Ford Performance, Ford’s motorsport division, in collaboration with researchers from the Digital Additive Production Institute at RWTH Aachen University in Germany.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Image by krzysztof-m via Pixabay
