Sharrow Engineering reduces propeller production lead times from 130 days to two weeks via Ford 3D sand-casting partnership

Sharrow Engineering is scaling production of its patented Sharrow Propeller by implementing a 3D sand-casting workflow developed in collaboration with Ford Motor Company’s Advanced Industrial Technology & Platforms (ATP) team. Based in the Michigan Central innovation hub in Detroit, the company has successfully transitioned from traditional investment casting, which required lead times of up to 130 days, to a 3D printed sand-casting process that delivers components in approximately two weeks. Founder and CEO Greg Sharrow confirmed that this manufacturing pivot is essential to meeting surging demand across recreational boating, commercial marine, and defense sectors.

This transition addresses a critical bottleneck in the marine hardware value chain where complex, high-performance geometries often face long foundry lead times. By utilizing Ford's 20 years of expertise in 3D sand-casting, Sharrow is bypassing the slow tooling phases required for traditional sand molds or investment casting patterns. This move places Sharrow at the forefront of additive manufacturing application in the maritime sector, moving beyond prototyping into high-volume industrial production. The ability to rapidly iterate and scale complex propeller designs provides a significant competitive advantage over traditional manufacturers constrained by conventional casting cycles.

For Sharrow to maintain this momentum, the company must now ensure that the regional foundries integrated into this Ford-led workflow can maintain consistent metallurgical quality at higher volumes. The success of this scale-up depends on the stability of the 3D sand-casting process as it moves from specialized batches to broader commercial availability. Buyers in the marine and defense sectors should view this as a significant improvement in supply chain responsiveness for high-efficiency propulsion components.