Ford To Use Alcoa's Micromill Material In Multiple Components On 2016 F-150

(RTTNews) - Ford Motor Co. (F) and Alcoa Inc. (AA) collaborate to produce next-generation automotive aluminum alloys that are more formable and design-friendly.

Ford said it will begin using Alcoa's Micromill material in 2016 F-150 production in the fourth quarter of 2015, and plans to increase its use over the next several years on a range of vehicle components and future platforms. It is projected Ford's use of Micromill material on its vehicles will more than double from 2016 to 2017.

Alcoa's advanced alloys offer Ford the formability and strength required for greater flexibility in designing vehicles using complex parts. By using the highly formable material, parts constructed of multiple pieces can be manufactured as a single part - reducing complexity and assembly time.

Aluminum alloy produced using the Micromill process has already been validated by Ford engineers to ensure it meets the stringent requirements for producing high-quality parts, especially the kinds of complex structures that make up F-150.

The joint development agreement between Alcoa and Ford will further expand the existing suite of automotive alloys produced by Micromill technology for use on Ford vehicles. New alloys will improve design flexibility on lightweight parts and provide better vehicle performance - helping Ford produce the types of quality, lightweight vehicles customers want.