Automotive Foundries: Innovate or Evaporate?

Over the years, the automotive foundry industry has been squeezed for every penny from OEMs and Tier 1s. Because of that minimal breathing room, especially smaller foundries rarely have the additional headcount for peak loads or innovation projects. It must be done by the same people who keep the lights on with their dedicated work.

Now, the industry is at a breaking point. The vehicle’s aluminium weight increases, but at the same time, the part numbers plummet. The small DCMs are running out of work as the powertrain parts are no longer needed with electrification, and structural castings are integrated into large castings. A new approach to the market is required. Most of the foundries also don’t have the financial capability to invest in the Gigacasting trend.

What can you do to keep the lights running?

Let me tell you, the ones waiting for a solution from a portal will be the first ones out of business. Waiting never helped pushing a company into the future. The companies that take calculated risks are the ones coming out ahead. You have to do things differently to reach a blue ocean scenario.

There is a difference between taking risks and taking calculated risks. The last one limits the downside potential. It also discusses whether the technology is the right one for the intended purpose or is totally different. It is crucial to remain open-minded. Nobody wants to be in the same situation VW engineers were in when they designed the software that caused the diesel gate. Management was pushing, but the technical capabilities weren’t given. So, a software cheat code was needed to please the higher-ups.

The first thing you must understand is to accept changes to the initial project plan. Knowledge changes perceptions and, therefore, outcomes. So, the plan has to be constantly adjusted.

Also, expectations need to be adjusted. Do not think that something entirely new will outperform an existing process that has been refined over the years. It takes time and dedication to iron out the process. Often, it is not the innovation itself; its surroundings hinder its full capabilities.

Rheocasting is one of these innovations that help foundries find a blue ocean scenario for their foundry as it opens the HPDC process to more applications and alloys. As Rheocasting is just an umbrella term, many variants exist on how to make that slurry. They all have various process control parameters and solid fractions ranging from 3% to 70%.

You can imagine a difference in the properties of the slurry along that range. The behaviour is similar at low solid fractions than in liquid HPDC. However, the desired thixotropic properties kick in around 35 to 45% of the solid fraction.

Now, you take your worn-out HPDC tool with the thin ingate designed to spray the liquid melt into the cavity into the Rheocasting process to keep tool changes and project costs at a minimum. But you still expect a laminar filling and perfect properties, as you saw in the promotional material. You will have a bad time when you see your results!

You saw a terrible result, not due to the Rheocasting process but due to the ingate, which wasn’t adapted for the process. Now you’re at the crossroads; Option one is to tell everyone Rheocasting doesn’t work, or Option two is to adjust to the new method’s needs. If you are ready to adjust to something new and dive into new products, schedule a Free Consultation Call down below.