Partner

Aluminum Castings that Mimic Human Bones

Lesedauer: min

Does the human body hold the answer to making lighter weight cars?

A couple of companies are working on making aluminum castings that sort of look like human bones on the inside. While bones are solid on the outside, they’re porous on the inside. And it’s that porous-ness, all those holes in there that makes them strong and lightweight.

Munro and Associates and Cymat Technologies of Toronto are working on using an aluminum casting technique to slash weight, including automotive components such as suspension pieces.

Interestingly the SAF casting, as it’s called, which stands for stabilized aluminum foam also has thermal and acoustic insulation properties, which means they also have the opportunity to make cars quieter as well as lighter, thanks to the fact these companies looked to the human body for design solutions.

[0]