Building the 2015 Ford F-150 Safe and Strong - TruckTrend Magazine
The 2015 Ford F-150 seems to just keep racking up the accolades and recognition, and the latest feather in its cap is a 5-star NHTSA crash test rating on all cab configurations, including SuperCrew, SuperCab, and regular cab. We recently traveled to Ford HQ in Dearborn to get a more up-close look at some of the methods and construction techniques used on the new F-150 that enable this level of safety. Because of its lower density than steel, many of the aluminum pieces and structures were physically beefier than their steel equivalents but were still impressively lightweight for their size. Unlike a steel structure, which is primarily spot-welded, the F-150’s body makes extensive use of specialized rivets and structural adhesives. At first blush, from a non-engineering perspective, it would seem like rivets and adhesives would be weaker than welds and one-piece stampings. However, Len Shaner, Ford F-Series Safety Manger, showed an adhesive-bonded two-piece aluminum boxed section that was subjected to an offset barrier test, in which only half of the structure was rammed into the barrier. To his surprise, the first thing to go was the stamped metal itself, with the adhesive-bonded portion remaining intact, and the stamped aluminum portion shearing away from the base. Putting the Squeeze On. Another method enabled by the use of aluminum was extrusion,. Source: www.trucktrend.com
