Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) and Praxair Surface Technologies, Inc. have finalized a deal giving Praxair worldwide licensing rights for a parts making process that cuts tool and die development time in half and associated costs by more than 25 percent.
Developed by Ford’s Scientific Research Lab, the rapid tooling process, called Sprayform Tooling, creates stamping dies by spraying molten steel over ceramic molds.
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“Using the traditional method, creating manufacturing tools and dies are among the most expensive and time consuming elements of a new vehicle program,” said Dr. Charles Wu, director of Ford Manufacturing Systems and Vehicle Design Research Laboratory. “The spray-formed tooling process will shave millions of dollars and several months off the production process.”
Praxair Surface Technologies, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX), will have a licensing agreement with Ford to commercialize the automaker’s new rapid tooling process. The licensing deal was arranged by Ford Global Technologies, Inc. Ford Motor Company, however, will continue to hold a portfolio of nearly 20 patents and patent applications, with more planned for the future, to protect this tooling innovation. In addition, Ford Motor Company will receive royalties on Sprayform system and tool sales Praxair makes to other companies.
“The thermal spray technology at the heart of this process is based on what we do every day in our plants around the world,” said Frank Ridding, president of Praxair Surface Technologies, Inc. “The agreements provide a great opportunity for us to help Ford and other users of stamping dies to significantly reduce their production time and cut costs. Our development team will continue to work with Ford’s R & D organization to further develop this breakthrough technology.”
This spray-formed rapid-tooling process reduces the number of steps to create a typical steel tool from about 12 steps and as long as 25 weeks time for the traditional method to five steps and less than four weeks. Ford Motor Company has been able to produce tools in as little as one week.
