Outstanding castings in aluminum, magnesium and zinc

The award for the cylinder head cover is a well-deserved recognition of its outstanding properties and casting challenges, especially when it comes to ensuring pressure tightness with a low wall thickness. In addition, the high surface requirement is another important aspect that was taken into account in the award. A flawless surface is of great importance to ensure optimum performance and aesthetics. Profitability is given by manufacturing advantages with 30% weight savings even for die casting in small series, with an additional investment saving through a uniform casting blank for two mirror-symmetrical finished parts.

The award honours a component that embodies the key advantages of Mg die casting, such as low weight. With four slides per cavity and two cavities, the moulding technology used is impressive. Mastering the long flow paths and good thermal management of the mould require knowledge and precision. In addition, resource-saving moulding by means of reduced quantity spraying is used. The component is particularly characterised by high surface requirements and high strength combined with high ductility.

This is a sanitary component for a high-quality and exclusive shower system. With a length of approx. 60 cm and a weight of 1.3 kg, it is a large component with particularly high demands on the surface and dimensional stability.

The prize was awarded to an electronics housing for mining, which is a substitution of a steel construction with a weight of 4.13 kg and thus a 50 % weight saving. The development of a new market sector with high demands on explosion and corrosion protection as well as tight tolerances, particularly in the area of the 12 connector sockets, also characterise this component.

The award honours a component of outstanding casting quality combined with compliance with the highest tolerance requirements. Due to the use of identical internal components, the internal shielding cross is 45 degrees to the main mould division. The requirement for a conductive housing shielded against electromagnetic effects is also recognised.

A highly innovative aluminium structural casting with a wall thickness of just 1.5 mm was honoured. The special feature is the production using 4-plate technology with considerable advantages in terms of flow paths and sprue. This means that the sprue areas can be produced in high quality. In addition, the aluminium lightweight construction has been able to reduce the CO2 footprint by 75% by replacing magnesium with aluminium.

The casted e-coil for wheel hub motors is a completely new component application and manufacturing method. The coils made of rotor aluminium produced using the die-casting process have a 50% reduction in component weight and almost comparable performance data as well as better heat dissipation of the aluminium coils with a simultaneous 60% reduction in material costs compared to wound copper coils. Lower processing temperatures significantly reduce the CO2 footprint during production compared to copper coils.

The prize was awarded to a component in which a die-cast component with cavities was successfully produced using the die-casting process with the recycled alloy AlSi9Cu3. The salt core technology already used in many development projects could be realised here in large-scale production using two composite salt cores to reproduce the water channels. This enabled both weight and costs to be saved compared to the chill casting variant.