Collaboration has replaced 130-day investment casting process with a 3D printed sand-casting workflow, reducing production lead times to approximately two weeks.
Ford Motor Company’s Advanced Industrial Technology & Platforms (ATP) team and Sharrow Engineering’s partnership has led to significant cuts in lead time on a propeller being produced by the companies.
Michigan Central, Detroit’s mobility innovation hub, brokered the introduction between Ford and Sharrow, maker of the patented Sharrow Propeller. Over the course of nine months, the two companies have worked to adapt Sharrow’s propeller designs to a 3D printed sand-casting process, refining and validating the approach for high-volume output.
Ford developed and refined the mould manufacturing process in coordination with regional foundries, as it combined its advanced manufacturing expertise with the foundries’ metallurgical and pouring experience.
Ford and Sharrow have worked to adapt Sharrow’s propeller designs to a 3D printed sand-casting process, refining and validating the approach for high-volume output
The Sharrow Propeller was first introduced in 2020, and has since experienced growing demand from recreational boaters, commercial operators, and government agencies. Production throughput had become the company’s primary constraint, however, as that growth developed.
“Since we introduced the Sharrow Propeller, the market response has been extraordinary, but scaling production has been our biggest challenge, particularly getting high-quality castings fast enough to meet demand,” said Greg Sharrow, Founder and CEO of Sharrow Engineering and Sharrow Marine.
“That’s one of the reasons we came to Detroit – to tap into a level of manufacturing capability and ecosystem we couldn’t find anywhere else, including the network at Michigan Central. This collaboration with Ford Motor Company has solved that problem for us in a big way. What used to take an entire boating season to produce can now be made in just a few weeks. That’s game-changing.”
“It’s a powerful example of what can happen when companies like Ford help bring breakthrough technologies to industrial scale.”
Ford’s solid, longstanding sand-casting foundation
Ford’s involvement drew on more than two decades of experience in 3D sand-casting.
“Ford has been at the leading edge of 3D sand-casting for more than 20 years, and it’s rewarding to use that expertise to help another Michigan company scale so quickly. This is about more than just propellers – it’s about making industrial innovation available to customers like Sharrow so they can compete on a global stage,” stated Dan Michalski, Additive Manufacturing Operations Supervisor at Ford.
Dan Michalski additive manufacturing operations supervisor at Ford with the final product
Michigan Central Acting CEO Carolina Pluszczynski described the collaboration as a direct expression of the hub’s purpose. “Michigan Central was built to bring together the people, infrastructure, and expertise needed to help companies move from breakthrough ideas to real-world scale. Sharrow is exactly the kind of company we’re here to support – an innovator with proven technology and growing demand.”
“It is incredible to see how Sharrow has scaled since joining our ecosystem. They have leveraged the prototyping labs here, found talent to grow their team, and expanded their footprint. And now, by connecting them with the Ford advanced manufacturing team, Sharrow has drastically accelerated its production processes, turning innovation into tangible impact.”
Expansion beyond marine applications
The production gains coincide with Sharrow’s fourth facility expansion in five years. The company now operates from a 60 000-square-foot site in Harper Woods, Michigan, and has indicated that the core propeller technology has applications beyond marine propulsion. These include drones, advanced air mobility, industrial fans, pumps, and renewable energy systems.
