OREANDA-NEWS. Ford engineers are always looking for new ways to use new materials in Ford vehicles. When Nathan Medbury, Powertrain engineer, E8 Ongoing Product Development (OPD), Ford Australia, decided to design a carbon fiber intake for use in the new Falcon Sprint, it turned heads among the media and within the company.

“From an engineering perspective, carbon fiber is lightweight and has material properties that are suited to this application – high tensile strength and good heat resistance properties,” said Medbury. “It allowed us to maximize airflow and power output, and it allowed us to create something special for our loyal Falcon customers.”

This is the first time Ford has used carbon fiber under the hood. The material also allows for reduced weight and improved fuel economy and overall performance.

“It’s a world first application for Ford, and it was led out of the Australian product development organization,” said Justin Capicchiano, supervisor, E8 OPD, Ford Australia. “It is a fantastic achievement and a true example of a small feat with mighty implications to the Ford global product development organization.”

Having a specification of carbon fiber available to other programs means it is an “off the shelf material” that other engineers can now use in their own products – without the need for further testing – as it is validated to a global specification. And while this is a new development, several groups have already shown interest in using carbon fiber in their projects, both in North America and locally.

From concept to validation, the part took approximately one year to develop. In this time, a lot of work and collaboration took place to get this project off the drawing board and into production.

“We received assistance or buy-in from Materials Engineering, Core Engineering, Test Engineering, Power Train Development, the design studio, Supplier Technical Assistance and the programs office,” said Medbury. “This is a truly collaborative effort, and without the support and input of everybody involved we wouldn’t be where we are at this point in time – with a new, fully validated material going into production to help celebrate the final iteration of the Ford Falcon nameplate.”

This year, Ford Asia Pacific held the Small but Mighty Employee contest, giving employees the opportunity to nominate a peer whose actions truly exemplified the small by mighty spirit. Medbury was nominated by Capicchiano, and was eventually named Ford’s regional Small but Mighty champion in Australia for his work in product development.