How Ford Developed the New Explorer Using Formlabs SLA and SLS 3D Printers

See how Ford developed the new Explorer using Formlabs Form 4 and Form 3L SLA 3D printers, as well as the Fuse 1+ 30W SLS 3D printer. Learn more: bit.ly/3Wor0g8
Ford has recently launched the new Explorer, their first EV for the European market. The new model was developed by Ford's PD Merkenich development center near Cologne in Germany, where the Rapid Technology Center used Formlabs SLA and SLS 3D printers to prototype and validate designs quickly and cost-effectively and produce complex designs and functional parts.
They use Formlabs SLA 3D printers in the workshop for design prototypes that require good surface quality and need to be rapidly produced for quick iterations. PD Merkenich’s first Formlabs printer was a Form 2, but they quickly scaled up their fleet to multiple desktop units and a Form 3L large-format SLA 3D printer. Most recently, they were one of the first companies to get their hands on Form 4, Formlabs’ latest MSLA 3D printer.
“The Form 4 is very fast, I think it is the best machine that I’ve seen until now in terms of speed. It's really a very good upgrade compared to the previous models. ​​It’s easier to operate, so it's much easier for the operators in our workshop to learn how to work with the machine and get parts with good quality,” said Bruno Alves, Additive Manufacturing Expert and Tooling Specialist at Ford.
“The Form 3L enables us to print big parts, for example, exterior body parts for the vehicle. We printed this mirror cap to validate a design. 3D printing is suitable for this application because it's fast and we can have very good quality compared to mass production parts,” said Alves.
The self-supporting nature of SLS 3D printing makes it easier to produce complex designs. For the new Explorer, the team used the Fuse 1+ 30W to produce various mechanical parts and assemblies.
“For this charging cover, it was important to use SLS, based on the fact that we needed a functional part that would enable us to test the mechanisms. It's a really complex design that we are not able to produce in any other way. We cannot mill this part. We cannot use injection molding to produce just some samples. So the best way is to print in a material that we can test physically,” said Alves.
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Formlabs builds the tools that make it possible for anyone to bring their ideas to life. Headquartered in Somerville, Mass. with offices across the globe, Formlabs is the professional 3D printer of choice for engineers, designers, healthcare providers, manufacturers, and decision-makers. Formlabs’ products include SLA and SLS 3D printers, post-processing solutions, and Form Auto manufacturing solution for automatic part removal. The company also develops its own portfolio of industry-leading, high-performance materials and best-in-class 3D printing software. In 2024, Formlabs was named one of the world’s Most Innovative Companies in Manufacturing by Fast Company. To learn more, visit www.formlabs.com.