Ford Inc: The Use of Adhesives in Cars - Case Study Example

The use of adhesives in cars can be challenging due to its harmful nature, its inability to withstand high temperatures and its inability to stick to dirty and oily surfaces. An analysis of the adhesives reveals that they contain harmful substances though they are in small quantities (Hagerty & Ramsey 4). Therefore, the average user requires training on how to use the adhesives. Notably, adhesives are not effective at high temperatures. This is because these adhesives cannot hold hot surfaces together, therefore making them less useful in sticking hot parts such as the engine parts.

Lastly, it is challenging to use adhesives to stick together dirty and oily surfaces (Hagerty & Ramsey 4).Ford influenced the sharing of technology with suppliers by persuading other companies to share their technologies (Hagerty & Ramsey 2). For instance, the company persuaded Alcoa Inc. to share its pretreatment technology with other suppliers. However, this move would benefit the Alcoa Inc. through getting royalties from Ford Inc. Adhesives have the effect of reducing the cost of production and making the vehicles and airplanes stiff and stable.

For instance, an airplane’s frame can use fewer metal fasteners by forty thousand to fifty thousand when compared to a plane that uses conventional steel and metal to build. Additionally, adhesives stiffen the body of vehicles making them stable (Hagerty & Ramsey 3).Though adhesives have increasingly been used in many manufacturing plants, it is quite hard and challenging to trust one’s life with the adhesives. Most people buy cars and other machines based on their safety, and it would be impossible to convince an individual that a machine or vehicle joined together by glue can be safe, especially when driving at high speed.

The only thought that can cross their minds at that time would be some parts of the car ripping off while driving. It would be hardly possible to convince such a person that a car joined with glue would be more or similar to a car joined with nuts and screws. However, after reading about the use of adhesives in vehicle manufacturing, there is some light shed on the safety and significance of the use of adhesives in vehicle production. In the context of the driver and passenger’s safety, adhesives are safe though they cannot be used to stick very hot surfaces.

For the hot surfaces such as the engines, rivets and nuts have been used, though research is ongoing to establish whether adhesives can be used and how they can be modified to be used in intense heat surfaces (Hagerty & Ramsey 3). Notably, two glued parts of a car can hold a maximum of approximately 6, 500 pounds of force per square inch before breaking (Hagerty & Ramsey 3). This makes the people aboard a car safe since the car parts are held firmly. Apart from safety, this article presented facts on the cost effectiveness and stability improvement benefits of the car.

Notably, the use of adhesives make the vehicles lighter since it replaces nuts and rivets. Making the car lighter means that the owner will save on fuel since the power required to propel the car will be lower as compared to a heavy vehicle (Hagerty & Ramsey 3-4). Additionally, the use of adhesives makes the vehicle stable and will not be wobbly during movement.Works CitedHagerty, James R., and Mike Ramsey. "Ford F-150, Some BMWs and Corvettes Switch to Adhesives in Quest to Drop Weight." Super Glues Are the Secret to Making Cars Lighter. 8 Sept. 2014.