Bees Inspire Lightweight, Strong Honeycomb Cargo Shelf in All-New Ford EcoSport SUV
February 20 2017 - 12:01PM
Business Wire
- Adjustable cargo floorboard in all-new
Ford EcoSport, made of high-strength 100 percent recycled paper
honeycomb, helps compact SUV customers – committed to going small
and living big – do more with less
- Constructed from all-natural paper and
water-based glue, six-pound honeycomb floorboard is both
eco-friendly and strong enough to handle nearly 700 pounds of
cargo
- Technology derived from honeybees –
first introduced in household door manufacturing 50 years ago – is
now used in automotive and furniture design, as well as
packaging
Honeybees didn’t actually create the four-way parcel shelf for
the all-new EcoSport cargo area, but they did lend their design to
the recycled paper honeycomb material that gives the shelf its
unusual strength.
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Adjustable cargo floorboard in all-new
Ford EcoSport, made of high-strength 100 percent recycled paper
honeycomb, helps compact SUV customers do more with less (Photo:
Business Wire)
“The hexagonal design of honeycomb is a testament to nature’s
ingenuity,” says Mike Mazzella, Ford EcoSport assistant chief
engineer. “Not only is it strong, it’s superlight. Customers can
slide the shelf into multiple different slots like an oven rack;
even store it on the back of the seats. It helps make EcoSport
super-flexible in everyday use.”
Honeycomb is one of several useful details that make the fun,
capable and connected EcoSport an engineering and design powerhouse
– a highly functional package in a vehicle just smaller than Ford
Escape. The adjustable floorboard will debut as an all-new feature
when EcoSport arrives early next year.
Genius of nature
Resin-reinforced honeycomb has a truly phenomenal
strength-to-weight ratio, underscoring EcoSport’s capability to go
small but live big. The shelf weighs a scant six pounds, yet it is
rated to handle nearly 700 pounds across a 38.5-inch by 25.25-inch
surface. In other words, this slip of a shelf can hold innumerable
combinations of heavy items, like five bags of concrete mix (94
pounds each), four large bags of top soil (40 pounds each) and
eight individual gallons of water (just a little more than eight
pounds each).
For years, honeycomb has been used to create the strong
structure under the skins employed in high-end sporting equipment
like skis, as well as aerospace frames. To create the adjustable
floorboard for the all-new Ford EcoSport, a layer of hexagon-shaped
cells made of 100 percent recycled paper and water-based glue is
sandwiched between two layers of composite material. It’s able to
hold more than 100 times its six pound weight in cargo.
Configure it your way
The parcel shelf can hold any of four positions in the cargo
area to best suit a driver’s needs:
- In the lowest position, it serves as a
load floor for maximum storage
- In the middle position, it creates a
secure storage area beneath the floorboard
- In the high position, the area
underneath increases to create a cargo floor that lines up with the
fold-flat second-row seats
- Removed and stored vertically against
the back of the second-row seats
About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is a global automotive and mobility company
based in Dearborn, Michigan. With about 201,000 employees and 62
plants worldwide, the company’s core business includes designing,
manufacturing, marketing and servicing a full line of Ford cars,
trucks and SUVs, as well as Lincoln luxury vehicles. To expand its
business model, Ford is aggressively pursuing emerging
opportunities with investments in electrification, autonomy and
mobility. Ford provides financial services through Ford Motor
Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford and its
products and services, please visit www.corporate.ford.com.
For news releases, related materials and
high-resolution photos and video, visit www.media.ford.com.
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Ford Motor CompanyBecky Sanch, 313.594.4410bsanch@ford.com
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