During EUROGUSS 2024 European (Nuremberg) Die Casting Industry Exhibition, organizer organized experts to select "2024 European Aluminum Die Casting Award".

 

Describe design, casting and molding requirements for castings and their functions, also applicable to assembled components:
Components with extremely high tolerance requirements also have high requirements for absence of pores/voids in grooves, which are produced through machining. Due to high volume production required, fully automated processing is required, including 100% EOL camera inspection of air holes in grooves (evaluation of quantity, size and location).
Design, casting and styling requirements:
Casting Challenge: Making multiple molds on limited machine dimensions. Requirements for internal defects or defects of approximately 2 mm on machined surfaces are very high, so all possibilities of die-casting machine or processes associated with casting process must be fully exploited.
Why use die casting process?
Optimal heat dissipation is achieved through use of aluminum.
Technical data:
▪Length: 91 mm
▪Width: 92 mm
▪Height: 21 mm
▪Weight: 114 grams
Alloy: AlSi12
Submitting company: HDO Druckguß - und Oberflächentechnik GmbH

 

Describe design, casting and molding requirements for castings and their function, including assembly components:
Chassis components are rheocast. No machining. T6 heat treatment.
Design, casting and styling requirements:
Replaces forged parts with same mechanical properties and reduced weight.
Why use die castings for production?
Cost savings, cast to final contour, no mechanical reworking.
Why did this part win European Diecasting Award?
Innovative and hitherto unique cost-saving and weight-saving possibilities.
Technical data:
▪Length: 325 mm
▪Width: 180 mm
▪Height: 100mm
▪Weight: 886 grams
Alloy: AlSi7Mg
Submitting company: Salzburger Aluminum Group | SAG New Technologies GmbH Salzburger Aluminum Group | SAG New Technologies GmbH

 

Describe design, casting and forming requirements for castings and their function, including assembly components:
Innovative aluminum gearbox cover for electronic shaft unit (system housing), a significant improvement compared to reference parts from similar series.
Design, casting and forming requirements:
High-strength aluminum alloy cast using Vacural® casting process. Topologically optimized aluminum part is 38% lighter compared to reference part.
▪38% lighter and 30% cheaper;
▪30% cheaper, 60% less CO2 emissions;
▪CO2 emissions reduced by 60%.
These improvements are result of in-depth research and innovative design to maximize potential of lightweighting while delivering environmental and economic benefits.
Why die casting production?
Weight advantage is achieved primarily through a novel structural approach characterized by direct load flow and three-dimensionally reinforced heavy-load closure surfaces. Forces and loads are distributed evenly across tensile surface of structure without significant stress peaks. This means that materials used are put to better use. Further weight savings have been achieved through use of an advanced high-strength AlMgSi alloy in structural castings, so that weight can be reduced from 2.50 kg to 1.55 kg, while fatigue strength and operational reliability of the entire system have also been improved. In terms of design, this is particularly evident in exterior. There is almost no need for any stiffeners on outside and corrosion resistance is reduced due to reduced contact surfaces and storage pockets.
On the other hand, due to further development of a naturally corrosion-resistant alloy (without heat treatment), 95% of content is recyclable, without need for cost drivers such as rare earths or gas processing; casting weight is reduced due to less material required and costs are reduced due to lower scrap rates due to Vacural® casting process. Additionally, when designing part, care was taken to ensure that mold did not need to slide, further reducing complexity and cost. However, cost of used AlMgSi alloy and Vacural® casting process is slightly higher compared to reference (AlSi10MgMn; vacuum assisted). But overall, cost savings were over 30%.
Sustainability can be quantified through savings in CO2 balance. Here, reduction in weight (and thus less material required), use of high-recycling alloys, elimination of heat treatments and reduction of scrap rates all have a positive impact, reducing overall CO2 emissions by at least 60%.
In summary, innovative gearbox cover offers a comprehensive range of improvements that significantly increase performance, reliability and efficiency of electronic shaft units at a lower cost. At the same time, it also contributes to sustainable development through weight reduction and ecological considerations. This innovation marks another step forward in the further development of cast components for future automotive drive systems.
Decision to manufacture component using a die-casting process was based on following technical, economic and ecological considerations:
▪Precisely and efficiently utilize materials with complex geometries without expensive post-processing steps;
▪Integration of functions such as bearing housings, screw fixing points, air outlets, oil inlets and oil outlets while minimizing additional machining steps required;
▪Use aluminum alloy with a recycling rate of up to 95% to effectively reduce carbon dioxide emissions and costs;
▪Minimizing porosity through the Vacural® casting process improves material performance while reducing waste.
Why did this part win European Diecasting Award?
1. Innovative application solutions:
Secondary alloys are used in three-dimensionally reinforced components, resulting in a weight reduction of 38% compared to reference (both aluminum).
2. Die-casting compatible, resource-saving design:
Using a new design approach, material is concentrated in tensile load component area consistent with load flow, thereby reducing bending moments and stress peaks, making components evenly loaded, thus minimizing material usage and saving more than 30% in costs.
3. Complexity and quality characteristics:
This design approach greatly reduces complexity and allows surface design to be essentially rib-free on the outside. This greatly improves corrosion performance. Furthermore, unlike reference, this assembly does not require any slides and does not create any unfavorable material build-up.
4. Sustainable alloy selection:
Using a secondary alloy with a 95% recycled content also eliminates need for additional heat treatment, rare earth and gas treatments, resulting in a component with at least a 60% reduction in CO2 emissions.
5. Efficient manufacturing methods:
Vakural® casting process reduces porosity and waste, thus improving performance of materials used.
Technical data:
▪Length: 340 mm
▪Width: 260 mm
▪Height: 100 mm
▪Weight: 1550 g
Alloy: Aluminum-magnesium-silicon cast alloy
Submitting unit: German Aerospace Center/Allen University

 

Describe design, casting and molding requirements for castings and their function, including assembled components:
No damage or dents in sealing area.
Externally threaded castings are not flat.
Design, casting and styling requirements:
Very good casting quality, threads are to spec.
Why use die castings for production?
Reduce machining and save costs.
It used to be turned and milled parts.
Why did this part win European Diecast Award?
Innovative solution for casting external threads without crushing.
High-quality properties of sealing surface.
Parts are cast using thermite chamber process.
Technical data:
▪Length: 18mm
▪Width: 16mm
▪Height: 16mm
▪Weight: 3.5 grams
Alloy: EN-AC 46000 AL 226 D
Submitting company: Dynacast Deutschland GmbH

 

Describe design, casting and molding requirements for castings and their function, including assembly components:
There are high demands on the surface and microstructure of filamentous, complex and thin-walled components (few pores and voids).
Design, casting and forming requirements:
Innovative mold separation and precision mold design are required to meet requirements. In order to meet high demands placed on component structure, vacuum degassing must be used.
Why use die casting technology?
In cooperation with Fraunhofer IFAM in Bremen, copper coils previously used in in-wheel motors for light vehicles will be replaced by electric coils made of die-cast aluminum. This innovative development opens up entirely new application areas for Al-DG process.
Because it can greatly reduce weight (aluminum coils are more than 50% lighter than copper coils, and aluminum coils currently use more than 30% less material than copper coils). In addition, processing of aluminum saves resources (low melting temperature). Aluminum is the third most common metal in the earth's crust.
Why did this component win European Die Casting Award?
▪Replacing copper with aluminum reduces dependence on raw materials;
▪Aluminum coils are about 50% lighter compared to copper coils;
▪Material cost of aluminum coils is reduced by approximately 60% compared to wound copper coils;
▪Optimize installation space using cast aluminum coils, and performance data is almost equivalent to that of wound copper coils;
▪Aluminum coils have a smaller CO2 footprint compared to copper coils due to lower processing temperatures;
▪Aluminum coils have better heat dissipation properties compared to wound copper coils.
Technical data:
▪Length: 65mm
▪Width: 25mm
▪Height: 11mm
▪Weight: 15 grams
Alloy: Rotor Aluminum
Submitting company: Ketterer Druckguss KG Ketterer Druckguss KG

 

Describe design, casting and forming requirements for castings and their function, including assembly components:
Aluminum die-cast "rear rail" is a highly stressed and safety-critical structural component of car body. It is also part of rear axle wheel housing and separates wet area from dry area. Rear rail is primarily subject to dynamic stresses and must meet strict stiffness requirements. In addition, application areas also require necessary deformation capabilities to ensure vehicle's remaining maneuverability in the event of a collision. Of course, this component also has a significant impact on car's driving safety, vehicle dynamics and driving comfort. By slightly rotating shape direction, scope of machining is greatly reduced.
Design, casting and styling requirements:
Rear rails face challenges in terms of thermal deformation due to their large component dimensions, particularly their length and geometric complexity of wheel arches. To achieve stringent target requirements in terms of elongation at break, a combination of low-volume spraying and high degassing was used. This minimizes residual moisture in mold, thus greatly optimizing heat treatment process.
Why use die casting process?
Since rear rail is mounted on an electric vehicle, special attention needs to be paid to sustainability and lightweighting. Rear rails can replace many individual formed sheet metal parts, connections and parts of longitudinal members in the overall design, resulting in a resource-saving and weight-optimized solution.
Why did this part win European Die casting Award?
▪Develop a reliable manufacturing process for ultra-long flow paths;
▪Riveting die casting, because residual moisture in mold is less, elongation at break is high, and casting quality is good;
▪Tight tolerance requirements can be met despite challenging straightening process due to component size and high component stiffness;
▪Reduce mechanical processing of castings and achieve lean production processes;
▪ As part of development, various functions/joints of steel connections can be integrated into casting, thereby reducing scope of assembly.
Technical data:
▪Length: 1282mm
▪Width: 407mm
▪Height: 645mm
▪Weight: 10425 grams