Roland Berger makes wrong assumptions about Gigacastings

I found a research paper about Gigacastings from Roland Berger, one of the most significant strategy consultant firms. It is worth reading, but some critical technical assumptions are wrong. The biggest one is the subject of this post. I’ll link the paper below so you can read it yourself.

As expected from a high-end strategy consulting firm, the strategic impacts of Gigacastings are well described. The authors outlined the advantages of the body shop and the complexity of tolerances well and on point.

The issues are related to the casting process and the alloys used. The authors proclaim 100.000 to 150.000 parts per tool and base their calculations on that number. This assumption is way off, and as I showed in my presentation at the Foundry Conference in Aalen, tooling costs are one of the largest contributors to the part price.

A small HPDC tool casting a near-eutectic alloy like the AlSi10MnMg can sustain 100 to 120.000 shots. The same tool for Magnesium alloys survives 150 to 250.000 shots.

Gigacastings do not use either of these alloys. They rely on AlSi7CuMg for Tesla or AlSi7MnMg for other OEMs, like Volkswagen Group or Volvo Cars. The larger solidification range is more aggressive for the tool. The same small HPDC tool mentioned above has a lifetime of 75 to 85.000 shots with an AlSi7 alloy. Combine that with higher melt temperatures because of the long flow length and larger shot weights; you end up with 50 to 60.000 shots of lifetime. That’s just half the expected lifetime mentioned in the paper.

It would be interesting to see the impact of the reduced tool lifetime on Roland Berger’s calculation. They calculated that Gigacastings are a viable option above 250 to 350,000 cars a year.

Even when the whole tool does not sustain 100.000 shots, there are ways to improve the lifetime of the tool steel. Thermal management of the mould and micro spraying are just two key factors in that development. Learn more ways to improve your castings with the Process Optimization Workshop from Casting-Campus GmbH. Schedule a free Consultation Call down below to start leveling up your foundry.

Here is the link to the full paper from Roland Berger.