Ford Uses 3D Printing Technology On EcoBoost Race Engine

Over the past couple years we’ve noticed different intake manifolds on the 3.5-liter EcoBoost engines racing in the Daytona Prototype class. And now Ford is explaining that 3D printing technology is helping facilitate the creation and testing of a wide range of intakes for the RoushYates-built engines.

“3D computer printers have totally changed the development process for our Daytona Prototype race cars,” says Victor Martinez, 3.5-liter EcoBoost race engine engineer. “3D printing has advanced at such lightning speed in recent years that in a matter of hours, we can create real, usable parts for race cars. That’s exactly what we did for the 24 Hours of Daytona earlier this year.”

Here’s the EcoBoost intake the first time we saw the engine.

We first saw the race engine on the dyno at RoushYates following its introduction at SEMA a couple years ago. It looked a little different while running at Long Beach last year. And now you see the current configuration in the lead photo above.

“We have the ability to design an entirely new part and, one week later, have that part in hand,” adds Martinez. “This lets the engineers who develop our cars – both for road and track – spend more time testing, tuning and refining.”

Ford purchased the third 3D printer ever built in 1988, using it to help develop prototype buttons, switches and knobs. As technology improved, engineers adapted 3D printing for other parts. Now the quality is so refined and materials have advanced that 3D parts can be used in real-world applications, including prototypes for production-car testing as well as one-offs for racing.

This is how the intake appeared at the Long Beach race last year.

Computer-aided design mockups are sent to Ford’s rapid prototype lab where they are analyzed and input into one of many 3D printers. Roughly one week later, a finished product is ready to be cleaned, painted and used.

“Toward the end of the 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship season, we began to design a number of revisions for our intake manifold,” explains Martinez. “In order to rapidly prototype and prove them out, we 3D-printed several intakes and tested them on our dyno and verified performance on the track. The iterations we created based on the 2014 intake manifold accelerated the development on our 2015 manifold – which is both lighter and brings improved airflow.”

Ford‒s EcoBoost engine powered Chip Ganassi Racing drivers Scott Dixon, Kyle Larson, Jamie McMurray and Tony Kanaan to victory in the grueling Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway.

The most recent intake manifold designed for the Chip Ganassi team also features carbon-fiber intake plenums developed by Multimatic.

“The prototype manifold exceeded our expectations in testing, so in the essence of time we decided to use it for the race,” says Martinez. “We modified our intake with carbon fiber components, painted it, and then it was ready to go to the track.”

With drivers Scott Dixon, Kyle Larson, Jamie McMurray and Tony Kanaan, the No. 02 Target Ford Eco-Boost Riley won the 24 Hours of Daytona.

About the author

Mike Magda

Mike Magda is a veteran automotive writer with credits in publications such as Racecar Engineering, Hot Rod, Engine Technology International, Motor Trend, Automobile, Automotive Testing Technology and Professional Motorsport World.
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