DETROIT -- Sharrow Engineering is accelerating production of its patented Sharrow Propeller by collaborating with Ford Motor's Advanced Industrial Technology & Platforms (ATP) team, using advanced 3D sand-casting to reduce production timelines from up to 130 days to about two weeks, while maintaining high precision.
The Sharrow Propeller claims to be the first major advancement in propeller technology since the 1830s, delivering up to 30% greater fuel efficiency and up to 80% noise reduction compared to traditional designs. Sharrow Engineering has more than 200 patents worldwide and serves as the parent company of Sharrow Marine, which makes marine propulsion systems.
Michigan Central, Detroit’s mobility innovation hub, facilitated the partnership by connecting Sharrow’s propeller designs with Ford’s manufacturing expertise.
Over the past nine months, the teams have adapted Sharrow’s designs to a 3D-printed sand-casting method, focusing on refining the process for high-volume production and meeting demand.
“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,” said Carolina Pluszczynski, Acting CEO of Michigan Central. “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.”
Ford helped develop and refine the mold process, working with local foundries to launch the new casting approach. The collaboration has sped up scalable production of the Sharrow Propeller.
“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,” says Dan Michalski, additive manufacturing operations supervisor, Ford. “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."
Since 2020, demand for the Sharrow Propeller has grown among recreational and commercial users as well as government agencies seeking efficiency and reduced noise. Interest has expanded to other mobility, defense, and energy applications, making production scaling the company’s main focus. The same core technology behind the Sharrow Propeller has applications across drones, advanced air mobility, industrial fans, pumps, and renewable energy systems.
Scaling propeller production has been Sharrow's biggest challenge, particularly getting high-quality castings fast enough to meet demand, according to Greg Sharrow, the company's founder and CEO. Sharrow came to Detroit to tap into a level of manufacturing capability and ecosystem that the company couldn’t find anywhere else.
"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," Sharrow said. "That’s game-changing. It’s a powerful example of what can happen when companies like Ford help bring breakthrough technologies to industrial scale."
This advancement builds on Sharrow’s continued investment in U.S.-based manufacturing, including its fourth expansion in five years to its new 60,000-square-foot facility in Harper Woods, Michigan, and supports ongoing hiring and growth in the Detroit region.
