MIC Top 1.0 inside construction & material (cross section) - pics

[Gotdesl]

Need a 2.0 cut open. Anyone want to volunteer theirs?

I have the appointment on the 15th to see what they are going to do with mine. I'm sure it will be some time after that before the replacement gets here. So, maybe...

Someone needs to hurry the F up and make a square back 2 door soft top that will actually fold all the way back and not just pile up on the roll cage above the cargo area.

I'm in complete and total agreement. I have no good place to store a hard top, the top will only be on it in the winter, and I would already have a soft top on it if they offered what you are describing. I don't like the "pile of tent" look the current offering has going on.

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[JimmyG]

Is this Detroit or Wuhan cardboard?

Detroit + Webasto

 

[JimmyG]

Well ford can say they made the worst removable top in the history of our sport

Contracted, it's a webasto made top. But yeah I agree...

 

[OU812]

Edit: Below are some pictures that I took of the MIC 1.0. After inspecting the top and seeing just how thin that outer shell is, I can see why the honeycomb structure of the top was showing through when exposed to extreme heat/moisture.

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IKEA would be proud of the materials.

 

[Tonka Bronka]

If you zoom in and look carefully you can see how the cardboard is infused with a protective resin of some type. This at least validates it is not plain raw soggy cardboard and will at least handle some amount of humidity.

This has nothing to do with the raw unfinished edges that WILL separate/delaminate from water and freezing.

Cardboard is probably the cheapest of all the honeycomb materials that I can think of, wicks moisture like crazy, and when wet has no strength at all and will start to smell. Now if you have an open edge it is bound to end badly. This from a company that knows how to utilize quality composites when they want to. Fail.

 

[AZSky]

I will have to check on that for you, but I do know that Ford instructed us to cut the top and dispose of it. We are not permitted to give it back to the owner.

In the past, I made the windsurfboard myself from scratch. I am wondering whether there would be a way to repair/upgrade MIC 1.0 like adding a layer of carbon fiber and seal the edges...

 

[North7]

Cardboard is probably the cheapest of all the honeycomb materials that I can think of, wicks moisture like crazy, and when wet has no strength at all and will start to smell. Now if you have an open edge it is bound to end badly. This from a company that knows how to utilize quality composites when they want to. Fail.

I'm absolutely not defending Ford or Wesbasto, but if their website is to be believe it is not raw, untreated cardboard, here is what they say.

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/

 

[Tonka Bronka]

I'm absolutely not defending Ford or Wesbasto, but if their website is to be believe it is not raw, untreated cardboard, here is what they say.

Webasto Automotive grade honeycomb:

Understood but what we are seeing in the photos is dry cardboard. So the face of the honeycomb is for sure coated and if all of the edges were sealed then yes, cheap but probably would be ok. But that’s the problem, the edges are not always sealed and moisture will find a way in there. Now if the “cardboard” was fully impregnated with resin it would probably still be ok with open edges but the photos indicate that not to be the case.

 

[Cat]

Hello! My store recently replaced a MIC 1.0 top for one of our customers, and part of the replacement process required us to cut up the old top panels. Would anyone be interested in seeing the inside of the MIC top?


Edit: Below are some pictures that I took of the MIC 1.0. After inspecting the top and seeing just how thin that outer shell is, I can see why the honeycomb structure of the top was showing through when exposed to extreme heat/moisture.

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Doesn't seem like it would stand up to a roll-over. Makes me wonder how it passed crash/load testing. Hopefully aftermarket will make a beefier too with something other than reinforced cardboard. SMH.

 

[Cat]

I'm absolutely not defending Ford or Wesbasto, but if their website is to be believe it is not raw, untreated cardboard, here is what they say.

Webasto Automotive grade honeycomb:

Horrid.

 

[Cat]

I plan to wrap my MIC hardtop in hopes that the wrap will cover the edges and seal it so rain/humidity doesn't go inside the MIC top.
I was hoping some of these folks at SEMA would have had a HardTop solution already!

Oh! Thats a good idea!!

 

[TroutBronc]

Making a wild guess you don't deal in raw material very often.

https://store.acpcomposites.com/aramid-honeycomb-core-standard-cell?quantity=1&size=6

Not to mention sheet prices of aluminum, boron and steel are all up exponentially.

http://steelbenchmarker.com/history.pdf

20 years ago you used to be able to get steel for a penny a pound. But this isn't the year 2000 and if we wanted to use your outdated standards, it's a $40,000 vehicle.

Oops, the real world checked in. Things are expensive. Price of cars has been stagnant for decades.

You are correct that car inflation has been quite low for the past 20 years, but overall inflation has been very very low as well by historical standards. The steel pricing you reference is very recent but very real. (And may show up in car pricing later)

I suspect that this design which is unique and has failed in some ways is all about a need to cut weight. Same reason certain models can’t get a roof rack, etc. And perhaps why Ford asked them to cut the materials by 30% which will cut weight.

 

[jehines3]

Doesn't seem like it would stand up to a roll-over. Makes me wonder how it passed crash/load testing. Hopefully aftermarket will make a beefier too with something other than reinforced cardboard. SMH.

Just speculating but probably better than the soft top and definitely better than the open no top look…

(seatbelts and roll bar are there for a reason.)

A well built composite top would work out just fine with these materials. Just not sure what the construction specifics were that got to the version 1.0 or 2.0 in production.

 

[Theherofails]

May as well buy your next top at IKEA.

 

[Lainez]

The primary difference there is that nida-core is made exclusively from polypropylene which is impermeable to moisture, has vibration and noise dampening properties and is easy to work with.

The tops on Bronco appear to be a combination of cardboard and a paper honeycomb, which gives it the properties of something that will constantly have problems unless not 100% isolated and protected from environmental factors..... The type of protection that clearly Ford hasn't figured out how to manufacture yet.

so which boat maker will offer after market tops for the Bronco?

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