Assembly in Action: Nylon Manifold Debuts on Light-Truck Engine
The component, developed over a 14-month period by a team from Ford Motor Co. (Detroit), Montaplast of North America (Frankfort, KY) and DuPont Automotive (Troy, MI), significantly reduces costs compared with the original lost-core design.
The component was originally designed in thermoplastic for lost-core molding. However, the potential cost savings offered by vibration welding drove the change. With vibration welding, two thermoplastic parts are rubbed together under pressure and at a suitable frequency and amplitude until enough heat is generated to melt and mix the polymer. After vibration stops, the parts are aligned, and the molten polymer solidifies, creating the weld.