Yes, that is right. The 2020 Ford Shelby GT500 will have 3D printed parts! The most expected muscle car of the decade will be partially 3D printed. Well, partially is a slightly too strong word here. It will get two 3D printed parts. However, this made me think about the 3D printing Ford has been screaming about for the last couple of years. It may very well be the biggest change in the world of mass production in ages.

On December 1st, 1913, Henry Ford started the first moving assembly line for the mass production of a car. History.com reports that “his innovation reduced the time it took to build a car from more than 12 hours to two hours and 30 minutes.”

Jump to today, and astounding news has emerged - “The 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Have 3D Printed Parts Brakes?”

I wonder, could this innovation be as industry shattering as the first production line was all that time ago? Of course, I am not the only one who thought about this.

"More than 100 years ago, Ford created the moving assembly line, forever changing how vehicles would be mass-produced," Joe Hinrichs, Ford's President of Global Operations, said in a statement. "Today, we are reinventing tomorrow's assembly line -- tapping technologies once only dreamed of on the big screen -- to increase our manufacturing efficiency and quality."

Ford is one of the hundreds (if not thousands) of companies that are working on perfecting the 3D printing process. It has been doing it from the very start (all the way back in the Eighties), but since sometime in early 2000s, it integrated the 3D printing process into its production affairs. The result is a disturbing fact - if by some magic, 3D printing at Ford stopped, the company would not be able to produce cars.

At all.

"We touch a significant portion of the vehicle with 3D printing now," said Harold Sears, Technical Expert of rapid manufacturing technologies with Ford's manufacturing division. "We're prototyping virtually everything from the road to roof."

So, what the hell does all of this have with the Shelby GT500?

These are some facts you have to know:

The Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Will Debut At The 2019 Detroit Auto Show

Yup, the 2019 North American International Auto Show is shaping up to be one of the most astounding shows in years. One of the most important debuts there will be that of the Mustang Shelby GT500. Yup, the 700+hp muscle car will finally make its debut at the 2019 NAIAS. Apart from all its glorified features, it will also carry two 3D printed parts. And I know which ones.

Two 3D Printed Parts For The Upcoming Shelby Mustang GT500

Ford was not exactly proudly presenting all the 3D printed stuff. I mean, brake line brackets. Ford can do better. And people were expecting better. Maybe 3D printed brake discs…

Wait! 3D printed discs?

Well, get this - a few months back Ford filed a patent for the production of a 3D printed brake disc.

Specialized 3D Printed Tools

Another example of the Ford 3D printing ingenuity is the decision to produce certain specialized tools for the production of the new Ford Ranger. Sure, Ford only vaguely touched on by how much it all lowers the costs. The company has said - it cuts weeks of the Ranger’s production time. Whatever that exactly means.

Chinese-Bound F-150 Raptors Have some 3D-Printed Interior Components

This is the truth. Ford, with its 90 different 3D printers all around the world, produces a number of parts for its vehicles. They are a bit shy to exactly point them all out, but we'll find out soon enough, I believe.

Ford Filed A Patent For The Production Of The 3D Printed Brake Disc

Only months ago, Ford actually filed a patent for the production of a 3D printed brake disc. Heck, not only did it file a patent for 3D printing a brake disc, but an aluminum brake disc at that. If you know anything about metals, you can probably imagine that an aluminum disc would be considerably lighter than a conventional one. More than 50 percent lighter. However, aluminum isn’t really good when it comes to coping with the heat. Its melting point is below 650 degrees Celsius. Brakes tend to get much hotter than that. The thing is that Ford aims to 3D print brake discs made of some alloy with aluminum as its main component.

This is what the inventors of the aluminum brake disc had to say about it:

“During the fusion metallurgical building up of the friction ring by using a laser deposition welding process or a 3D-printing process, the rapidly solidified aluminum alloy in powder form maintains its favorable mechanical properties. In this way, for example, a high level of thermal stability and a high level of abrasion resistance of the friction ring can be achieved so that an after-coating of the friction ring can be dispensed with.”

Ford Purchased the Third-ever 3D Printer Back In 1988

Ford is rather serious with its 3D printing intentions. The Advanced Manufacturing Center in Redford, Michigan is like a 3D printing paradise with 23 3D printers used for production and experimentation. It bought the third 3D printer ever produced. Then, the development of the integration of the 3D printing into its production process started taking shape sometime in the early 2000s. The best possible use of the 3D printing process isn’t exactly the mass production of parts for its cars, but actually the production of prototypes.

Apparently, using 3D printers saves hundreds of thousands for Ford with the production of prototype parts.

Ford's Advanced Manufacturing Center in Redford, Michigan

Ford invested $45 million in its Advanced Manufacturing Center in Redford. Apart from virtual reality research and software development, Ford tests 3D printing process and will mass 3D print parts for use on its cars. This facility, in fact, houses 23 3D printers. I believe you know that I am not talking about your run of the mill 3D printers that can print Viserion and Dragon figurines. These are industrial units costing tens of millions each. Some of them can actually use metals like titanium or aluminum for the printing process. Not only can they print some brackets, but in some time, I am sure we are going to see 3D printed body parts, intricate mechanical devices, and what not.

Having 23 3D printers isn’t enough, of course. So, Ford partnered with ten different 3D printing companies to achieve all of its 3D printing goals and speed up the 3D printing development.

Ford Fans Could Purchase 3D Printed Scale Models

Obviously, Ford wants to promote its 3D printing efforts the most. Well, they have not been produced by Carbon 3D. The production was outsourced. Despite the bureaucracy behind it all, true intentions are obvious - Ford wants to be one of the leaders in the segment. Selling efforts did not go that well, but the intentions were sound.

I am quite sure that a similar deal could be struck with the new 2020 Shelby GT500.

Cutting Costs

Additive manufacturing is an “official industry standard term (ASTM F2792) for all applications of the technology. It is defined as the process of joining materials to make objects from 3D model data, usually layer upon layer, as opposed to subtractive manufacturing methodologies.”

Obviously, a shrewd mind can think that this dramatically lowers potential material loses, speeds up the process from development to production, almost fully dispenses with the specialized tool development and production, and lowers the costs of the produced parts.

Harold Sears, Technical Expert for rapid manufacturing and additive manufacturing technologies at Ford Motor says “Ford has really been an early adopter of these technologies. We are here to integrate this technology more in manufacturing.”

Obviously, it is happening. How better to promote the whole thing than by producing parts for the royalty of the Shelby GT500!?

Final Thoughts

With the introduction of the 2020 Shelby GT Ford Mustang, Ford will greet us with the ultimate expression of its current philosophy. Sure, the Ford GT is an astounding supercar, but the Shelby GT500 is really what all of us are waiting for. Yet, with all that potential, Ford is looking to cash in on some other things - 3D printing seems to be one link in that important car production chain. Better get used to it.

Further Reading

2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Revealed In Social Media Post

Get the latest and greatest from our full speculative review of the 2020 Ford Shelby GT500

Read our full review of the 2013-2014 Ford Shelby GT500

Get in the know with our in-depth review of the 2019 Ford Shleby GT350