The importance of bringing new and innovative products to market cannot be underestimated. However, Ford has found success by utilising a historical technique that once helped protect knights from fatal attacks from their rivals. The automotive giant has recently unveiled the world’s first fully automated hot-forming process for auto parts, which it says will enable its all-new Ford Focus cars to become safer than ever before.
Built as part of a EU€600mn ($690mn) investment at its Saarlouis Vehicle Assembly Plant in Germany, Torsten Hallfeldt, Stamping Supervisor at Ford, explains the process of how the hot forming process works.