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Ford F-150 Case Study Risks and Rewards of Materials

Substitution

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Christopher R. Owen

Purdue University

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Ford F-150 Case Study

• In January 2014, Ford announced a completely new version of its best-selling truck, the Ford F-150, would be available in the 2015 edition.

– 2015 F-150 had aluminum body and cargo box

• Previously this was an all-steel truck

– Sheds 700 pounds and boosts mpg

– Includes 2 new mileage-oriented engines

• F-150 is Ford’s most profitable product

• Conversion is called “Radical” by several publications.

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The 2015 Ford F-150 Developed with an All-Aluminum Body

• What is “radical” about Ford’s decision?

• What risks do you think Ford faces in making this conversion?

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Risks that Ford Faces Conversion of the body of the F-150 from steel to

aluminum

• Assemble in teams and spend the next five to ten minutes listing the risks you think Ford is taking in making the conversion of the F-150 body from steel to aluminum.

• List the risks

– Keep your list for later reference

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Why Now?

• Given the list of risks that we generated, why do you think Ford decided to convert the F-150 body to aluminum in 2015?

– Why convert in 2015?

• Will potential changes in fuel mileage requirements affect this decision?

– Short term

– Long term

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CAFE Legislation Corporate Annual Fuel Economy

• On May 10, 2010, the EPA and the NHSTA issued the “Final Rule” on Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) requirements.

• The legislation has two objectives (1) reduce greenhouse gas emissions and (2) increase mileage (which will consume

• The requirements start taking effect in 2016 with the mileage requirements increasing to 54.5 mpg by 2025.

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CAFE Legislation

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What Would You Have Done?

• It is 2012 and you are Ford executives.

• The US government will impose extensive fines if you miss the CAFE Legislation target.

• Your fleet averages approximately 26 mpg.

– The F-150 averages about 14 mpg

– Over one quarter of your fleet is the F-150

• If the F-150 mileage stays low, what would the rest of the fleet have to average in order for the overall mileage to be 54.5 mpg by 2025?

• What are your other options?

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Options to Meet CAFE Legislation

• Smaller truck

• More efficient engine

• Light weight the F-150

– Higher strength steel

– Material Substitution

• Sell a greater percentage of smaller (higher mpg) cars

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Is Aluminum in Automotive Really “Radical”?

• Questions:

1. Is aluminum in automotive a new concept?

2. Can you think of existing aluminum applications?

3. Can you think of any automobiles that utilize aluminum in structural applications?

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1904 Pierce-Arrow Great Arrow (Cast Al body panels)

1936 Mercedes-Benz W 25 racing car (hand-formed Al sheet body)

1956 Panhard Dyna Z (1st Al sheet body production car)

1989 Honda Acura NSX (All-Al monocoque body production car)

Aluminum in Automobile Structures

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1994 Audi A8 (D2) (1st generation spaceframe)

2012 Range Rover

2003 Jaguar XJ (X350) (High volume [>100,000 units/year] all-Al monocoque body production car)

2015 Tesla (All-Al monocoque body production car)

Some Recent Aluminum Intensive Vehicles

• 1989: Tesla Roadster, Honda Acura NSX

• 1994: Audi A8 (D2)*

• 1995-99: Plymouth Prowler, Lotus Elise, BMW Z8, Ferrari F360, Audi A2

• 2000-2005: Spyker, Aston Martin Vanquish, Audi A8 (D3),* Lamborghini Gallardo, Rolls Royce Phantom, Jaguar XL (350), Ferrari 612

• 2005-9: Audi A8 (D4)*

• 2010 +: Ford F-150 and at least 10 other makes and models

*Audi A8 represents 3 aluminum intensives designs, to be discussed in module 2.4.2

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Significance of F-150 to Aluminum Automotive Applications

• How does the F-150 differ from these other automobiles?

1. Volume: prior to the F-150 conversion to aluminum, the Jaguar XJ 350 was the highest volume at >100,000 units/year. The F-150 is higher at 650,000 units/year.

2. Price: these trucks are high priced. As such, the material cost is not a significant percentage of the vehicle price. The F-150 buyer will be more concerned with price than the buyers of the mostly European sports cars.

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Why Ford F-150 volume matters

• The F-150 is the highest volume model in the United States.

• Providing the volume of aluminum sheet and extrusions for the F-150 will challenges the supply chain

– This should have been one of the risks Ford faces that we identified earlier,

• The F-150 is considered the first high production aluminum intensive vehicle. Projections contend that aluminum content will continue to increase.

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Industry Projections: by the year 2025…

• Aluminum sheet for light vehicle body and closure parts will grow from <200 million lb. in 2012 to ~4 billion lb.

• 7 out of 10 new pickup trucks produced in North America will be aluminum-bodied.

• Aluminum will comprise >75% of pickup truck, 24% of E segment, 22% of SUV, 18% of minivan body and closure parts.

• Average aluminum content will increase from 10% in 2015 to 16%.

• Every leading automaker will have an aluminum body program.

• Globally, light vehicle aluminum content will grow to 35 billion lbs.

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Why Price (Cost) Matters

• Typical Cost and Density of metals used in automobiles and trucks:

– Magnesium $16/kg, Density 1700 kg/m3

– Aluminum $15/kg, Density 2800 kg/m3

– Titanium $115/kg, Density 4500 kg/m3

– Plain carbon steel $5/kg, Density 7900 kg/m3

– Stainless steel $12/kg, Density 8000 kg/m3

• While Al costs more, the average incremental cost of Al is about $1 per pound of weight saved.

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Why Price (Cost) Matters

• While Al costs more, the average incremental cost of Al is about $1 of weight saved.

• All Aluminum body saves about 700 pounds of weight and produces about a 15% increase in fuel economy

• No other scenario gives such a large increase in fuel economy

• When fuel prices increase, savings increase as well.

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Ford History with Aluminum

• Ford and Jaguar Land Rover

– Ford owned Jaguar 1990 to 2008

• Note Jaguar developed Jaguar XJ (350) (2003); Jaguar XK (2006), Jaguar XJ (351) (2009)

• Land Rover (L405) converted to Al in 2012

– Probably with the technical assistance for Ford

• What significance does Ford’s ownership of Jaguar Land Rover have with aluminum?

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2015 Ford F-150

• High-strength, military grade, aluminum-alloy body and high-strength steel frame for less weight yet greater strength

• Fully boxed steel frame made of up to 78 percent 70,000-psi high-strength steel (up from 23 percent in the 2014 F-150 frame); up to 60 lbs. lighter with state-of-the-art roll-forming process that minimizes weight

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2015 Ford F-150, cont.

• Vehicle weight up to 700 pounds lighter than before resulting in better fuel efficiency, greater towing and payload capacities, improved power-to-weight ratio for faster acceleration, enhanced handling and braking responsiveness

• 22 mpg (Standard engine: 2.7L EcoBoost©)

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Case Study 2.4 Agenda

• Module 1: This unit plus individual study

– Case for Aluminum

– Individual studies assignments (next slide)

• Module 2: Properties and Production

• Module 3: Applications

– Individual studies report outs

– Risks and Rewards Discussions

– Overall conclusions

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Future studies

• Student research projects—Due at the beginning of Module 2.4.3

• Individual or group study projects

1. Study on crashworthiness—Al vs. Steel

2. Study on joining—Al vs. Steel

3. Study on Corrosion—Al vs. Steel

• Report out at beginning of Module 2.4.3

– Part of final decisions, Al vs. Steel

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Summary: Current Status

• Converting the body from steel to aluminum is projected to reduce the weight by over 700 lbs. The frame of the 2015 F150 will continue to be steel.

• Other brands trying to compete with new lighter weight, high strength steel alloys.

• Ford’s conversion is considered “radical” because of the risks. – Key to meeting CAFÉ requirements

– F-150 gas mileage was 14, now 22 mpg!

• Ford using this new technology in other vehicles.

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Ford F-150 Case Study Risks and Rewards of Materials

Substitution

• This work is part of a larger project funded by the Advanced Technological Education Program of the

National Science Foundation, DUE #1400619

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