Expand your product portfolio with Rheocasting

The automotive market’s breaking point was the Dieselgate. Since then, the shift toward electric vehicles has been unavoidable. This shift has a massive impact on foundries. Many powertrain parts are lost forever. The capacity of the freed-up machines targets BIW parts.

The former powertrain casters’ machine size spectrum is the same as any other foundry. However, there are now too many HPDC machines for the available part spectrum. This oversupply targets HPDC machines from 600 to 2500 tons, resulting in a price drop on the BIW parts within that spectrum.

A broader look into other markets is needed to get new parts to fill the capacity. But most automotive foundries must be high-volume cast parts to fit into the product portfolio. This constraint rules out castings for many non-automotive applications.

The truck industry’s planning and working process is similar to that of the automotive industry. However, the parts are often larger and/or have high wall thicknesses, like 20mm or more, which is not producible in conventional HPDC.

However, in Rheocasting, these high-wall thickness castings are a prime target for foundries. Die casting or sand casting takes time and, in large quantities, gets expensive in operating costs. The efficiency of an HPDC machine gives an “unfair” advantage to the Rheocasting process compared to the die casters.

This “unfair” advantage results in a lower price for the customer while increasing the profit margin. The standard AlSi7Mg is perfectly castable in Rheocasting. So no endless material validation test is needed—just the normal PPAP process.

If that interests you, the Rheocasting Strategy Development is perfect for you. Let’s schedule a free consultation below so that we can discuss your company’s opportunities.