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Razorbak86

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Opining time. We work on a fair amount of heavy trucks which means fiberglass hood, fenders and the like. In my me time I am a wood butcher and have played around with veneer.

Qualification time: I have not seen any of these tops in person so my next thoughts are going to be based on assumptions.

First, I assume there is some sort of mold or vacuum system used for these laminations. Either way, they would come out of it with edges that have squeezeout from the resin/epoxy and require trimming. Possibly one reason for the raw unfinished appearance.

Second, it’s been my experience that when doing layups, especially when vacuum pressing/bagging, the edges seem to be where delamination or poor bond happens the majority of the time. I always oversize my work piece so I can trim back to “good wood”. Of course the resin/glue/epoxy, has to allow adequate open time to allow setup and trapped air to work itself out through built in vents or around the edges. Too much pressure and you can crush a filler core or squeeze out too much epoxy. Not enough and you don’t get a good bond to each layer and have air bubbles trapped. Uneven pressure and all of the above. Not under pressure long enough and all of the above.

Looking at some of the pics it appears the separation is mainly around the edges. It probably isn’t a complete delam otherwise it would be showing up in different areas. My guess is either not enough resin squeeze out, not enough pressure around the edges or wasn’t under pressure long enough for the epoxy to kick.
Continental Structural Plastics, which is alleged to be the new supplier for the MOD top contract, makes composite products with a honeycomb inner layer as follows…




Ford Bronco Bronco Production Update From MAP - July 19th 🏭 DF2C4DDE-9B4A-4454-B20F-D2CF0D657C86
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PCgrad98

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Anyone with a June blend date get built email this week / weekend yet? Hopeful we see these clear out starting Monday if not sooner.
 
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North7

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Commercial jets (Boeing, Airbus, etc.) use this method to fabricate the fuselage, wings, etc. and last decades flying millions of miles.
Carbon Fiber composite based Commercial jets include the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A350, these have about 50% honeycomb reinforced structures. They have not been flying for decades but rather the 787 first flight was 2007 and the A350 first flight was 2013.

Traditional commercial aircraft, the Boeing 737, 767, 747, 777 along with the Airbus A300, A320, A330 and A380 use single skin aluminum structures without honeycomb.

In both types of aircraft, honeycomb is used for the internal structures such as the Bulkheads, Galleys and Lavatories.

Comparing a $100M to $200M dollar aircraft to a $700 MIC hardtop may not be apples to apples. The cost for many of the aircraft components exceed the cost of an entire Bronco.

Hexcel Aircraft grade honeycomb:
https://www.hexcel.com/Products/Honeycomb/
More than 50% of the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A350 XWB airframes are carbon fiber composite. Hexcel is a major supplier of materials to both programs and was awarded the contract by Airbus to supply the primary structure prepreg, with Hexcel carbon fiber, for the A350 XWB program.
https://www.hexcel.com/Markets/Commercial-Aerospace/Commercial-Aircraft
vs Webasto Automotive grade honeycomb:
Polyurethane composites consist of paper honeycombs which are covered by a mixture of polyurethane and reinforcing fibers.
https://www.webasto-group.com/en/technologies-trends/lightweight/polyurethane-composites/
 
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307Bronco

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Anyone with a June blend date get built email this week / weekend yet? Hopeful we see these clear out starting Monday if not sooner.
Nothing for me. Next week will be one month of my Bronco being built but not shipped, so I'm hoping for good news next week too🤞
 

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imaginager

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Nothing for me. Next week will be one month of my Bronco being built but not shipped, so I'm hoping for good news next week too🤞
For those who have experienced a shipping hold (status = "In Production" on Ford Vehicle Order Tracking), have ANY of you had your Bronco shipped??

From what I can tell Ford has yet to resolve a single order that has been placed on shipping hold.
 

307Bronco

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For those who have experienced a shipping hold (status = "In Production" on Ford Vehicle Order Tracking), have ANY of you had your Bronco shipped??

From what I can tell Ford has yet to resolve a single order that has been placed on shipping hold.
Not that I know of. Might be better to ask that question here: 6/30 blend dates since that's where the majority of us stuck in production seem to be.
 
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Shazamalingo

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Ross, You are great to let people know as much info as you do. Some folks want to complain no matter what. If you have your Bronco, Shut up and enjoy it (not you Ross). Warranties fix issues like the top. Ford is going to eat a lot crow in the coming months until it is resolved.
Maybe they should steal a few people away from Bestop or the manufacturer of Jeep tops...
I will be excited to get mine in a couple months. Hoping I don't get delayed again, but I will be fine if it does. It only means Ford is doing their best to fix the problems as fast as they can and trying not to ship out a sub par product.
Glad you are enjoying your Bronco.
If Ford is trying not to ship a subpar product, why are people receiving Broncos with roofs that fall apart after 2 days?
 

SpringTXOR

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If Ford is trying not to ship a subpar product, why are people receiving Broncos with roofs that fall apart after 2 days?
[/QUOTE}
No one knows what is going on, well I'm sure someone @Ford Motor Company knows and is not saying anything at all.
 

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Good points. The aircraft's effective life will be decades however. Yes the costs are not comparable, but from a standpoint of a vehicle, I wasn't implying that they were the same, but merely that this concept is used in other applications and one shouldn't jump to conclusions about this particular method of construction. (i.e. need more details to conclude anything)
 

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Shazamalingo

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I have to say that these delays for bad roofs are really ridiculous. The new Bronco was a chance to reinvent Ford and make a ton of money. To be losing out on money because removable roofs can't be made -- I am sure -- is driving many people at Ford insane.
 

Jgalvan79

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Mine has been in production since 6/30. Same as you no emails. Mine actually has the date 6/30 listed under in production. Are you able to see your window sticker? Talked to my dealer who claims that it is built but has no information beyond that. Nothing from ford....
I do have my window sticker. Still pending after one week.
 

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I had a week of June 7th orignal build date for a 4 door Wildtrack SAS,LUX MIC hard top and when I received the tracker it wen to build date of June 14th which is fine, the dealer called to tell me that it was built June 14th getting excited then the tracker changed to IN PRODUCTION on June 23rd and is still showing that same IN PRODUCTION date. For whatever the BLED date is that shows June 22nd. I just wish Ford would update my tracker.
 

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I had a week of June 7th orignal build date for a 4 door Wildtrack SAS,LUX MIC hard top and when I received the tracker it wen to build date of June 14th which is fine, the dealer called to tell me that it was built June 14th getting excited then the tracker changed to IN PRODUCTION on June 23rd and is still showing that same IN PRODUCTION date. For whatever the BLED date is that shows June 22nd. I just wish Ford would update my tracker.
I'm also June 22nd and I've heard nothing. Tracker says in production and produced in the same row lol maybe add a status like "QA test pending" or even an "FU wait longer"
 

bogshotrods

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I'm also June 22nd and I've heard nothing. Tracker says in production and produced in the same row lol maybe add a status like "QA test pending" or even an "FU wait longer"
if we would just get that info, QC has it and it's being worked on , or the FU works also lol The tracker is pretty much useless in my opinion
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