When Ford unveiled their newest version of the F-150 pickup truck, the biggest change that had people talking was the company’s use of aluminum for the body frames. In the past the body frame has been built out of steel, but switching to aluminum reduces the weight of the truck by 700 pounds. Many luxury cars including Range Rover, Audi, Porsche, Jaguar and Tesla use aluminum body panels already. Ford’s use of aluminum on one of the best selling cars in America signifies a move towards aluminum being used more commonly by auto manufacturers.
This is causing issues for auto body shops that are used to dealing with steel body frames and aren’t prepared to handle aluminum bodies. Collision shops are having to decide on ways to separate the steel and aluminum work areas; if aluminum dust touches a steel frame it can cause galvanic corrosion and cause the steel to rust. Some auto shops have put up rubber curtains to prevent contamination, while others have built entire walls to create a dedicated aluminum work room.
Another aspect of the increase in aluminum car body frames is the increase in explosive aluminum dust present at these facilities. Ford’s spokespeople are working to educate dealers and collision shops that airborne aluminum dust can be explosive and proper ventilation and cleaning practices should be put in place.
This is costing the auto body shops though, with the total cost of training, tools, and dust cleaning costing as much as $200,000. Ford has already said they want a network of 1,500 body shops capable of handling aluminum bodies, and is creating the ‘Ford National Body Shop Network’ of dealers and independent body shops that can work on the new F-150s.
Ford is expecting to sell half a million of these aluminum body F-150s, and other auto makers are beginning to incorporate aluminum into their cars more. It will be essential for the auto repair industry to seek out the proper training and combustible dust cleaning to ensure that aluminum dust explosions do not become a problem.
