Aluminum High-Pressure Die Casting (HPDC) for Automotive Parts

Automotive Parts Group Summary

1. Engine Accessories: Lightweight and precision-critical parts

Throttle body, fuel pump, fuel nozzle, tensioner, cylinder block, bearing bush, water pump, fuel injection, gasket, camshaft, valve plate, crankshaft, connecting rod assembly, piston, carburetor, fuel tank, water tank, fan, radiator, Pistons

2. Powertrain Accessories

  • Precision gears and shafts: Gears, intermediate shaft, drive shaft assembly, drive shaft flange, synchronizer ring.
  • Brake System Accessories: Brake disc, brake drum, brake master cylinder, brake cylinder.
  • Steering System Accessories: Steering gear, steering knuckle, power pump.
  • Suspension and Axle Accessories: Rear axle, half axle, balance weight.
  • Electrical and Instrumentation Accessories: Precision and heat-dissipation-critical parts ( Ignition module, ignition coil, alternator housing )
  • Automotive Lighting and Exterior Parts: Headlight housing, decoder housing, decorative automotive exterior parts.
  • Body and Safety Components: Wiper housing, airbag casing, instrument panel housing.
  • Maintenance Equipment and Others: Precision equipment casings and tool housings.
  • Complex structural components:Transfer case, clutch disc, flange, planetary gear, wheel carrier.
Frontal cross braceFrontal cross braceRHT folding levers
RHT folding levers

Automotive Parts Advantages:

High-pressure aluminum die casting has revolutionized the production of automotive parts, offering numerous advantages such as lightweighting, high strength, and the ability to create complex shapes.

Rear connector sill frame member
Rear connector sill frame member

1. Weight Reduction (Lightweighting):

One of the core challenges in the automotive industry is reducing vehicle weight to improve fuel efficiency and lower emissions. Aluminum is a lightweight material, approximately one-third the weight of steel, while still maintaining excellent strength. Producing aluminum parts through high-pressure die casting significantly reduces the overall vehicle weight, leading to improved fuel economy, acceleration performance, and handling. Lightweighting is even more critical for electric vehicles (EVs) as it directly impacts battery efficiency and driving range.

2. High Strength and Durability:

High-pressure die casting involves injecting molten aluminum into a mold under high pressure. This process results in a dense metal structure with minimized porosity, leading to parts with high strength and durability. Aluminum also exhibits excellent corrosion resistance, reducing the likelihood of part damage due to rust. These characteristics make high-pressure aluminum die-cast parts suitable for components subjected to high loads and stress, such as engine blocks, transmission housings, and chassis components.

3. Complex Shape Capability:

High-pressure die casting is highly effective for mass-producing parts with complex and precise shapes. If the mold's precision is ensured, parts with intricate internal structures, curves, and thin walls can be produced with high accuracy. This allows for the integration of multiple parts into a single die-cast component, simplifying assembly processes and reducing production costs. It also increases design freedom, allowing for complex shapes that improve aerodynamic performance or differentiate designs.

4. High Productivity and Cost-Effectiveness:

High-pressure die casting is a very rapid production process. Large quantities of parts can be produced in a short time, making it suitable for mass production and leading to cost reductions. The use of precise molds minimizes the need for post-machining, further reducing additional processing costs. This cost-effectiveness makes high-pressure aluminum die casting widely used in the automotive industry.

5. Precise Dimensions and Excellent Surface Finish:

Because high-pressure die casting uses high-precision molds to form parts, dimensional accuracy is very high. Additionally, the molten aluminum conforms closely to the mold surface during solidification, resulting in parts with an excellent surface finish. This helps reduce the need for additional surface treatment processes, further lowering production costs.

6. Wide Range of Applications:

High-pressure aluminum die casting can be applied to produce various automotive parts. Typical examples include engine blocks, cylinder heads, transmission housings, oil pans, pump housings, chassis components, and structural parts. Recently, high-pressure aluminum die casting has also been actively applied to battery cases and motor housings for electric vehicles.

7. Thin-Wall Casting:

The high pressure used in this process allows for the creation of thin-walled castings, which further contributes to weight reduction without sacrificing structural integrity. This is particularly important for body and structural components where minimizing weight is crucial.

8. Integration and Consolidation:

As mentioned earlier, high-pressure die casting enables the integration of multiple parts into a single casting. This reduces the number of individual components, fasteners, and assembly operations, leading to cost savings, improved structural rigidity, and simplified logistics.

9. Recyclability:

Aluminum is a highly recyclable material, making high-pressure aluminum die casting a more sustainable manufacturing process. Recycled aluminum can be used to produce new parts, reducing the demand for primary aluminum production and its associated environmental impact.

10. Tight Tolerances and Repeatability:

The process offers excellent repeatability, ensuring consistent part quality and tight tolerances. This is crucial for automotive applications where precise fit and function are essential.

General classification of the most common aluminium automotive parts
General classification of the most common aluminium automotive parts

HPDC Automotive Parts Lists Examples:

Transmission Related:

Engine mounting
Engine mounting
Integral engine mountingIntegral engine mounting
Integral crossbeam
Integral crossbeam
Suspension strut bracket for SUVs
Suspension strut bracket for SUVs

Body Related:

Door frame
Door frame
High-pressure die-casting nodes of the A-pillar
High-pressure die-casting nodes of the A-pillar
Gearbox crossbeams
Gearbox crossbeams
Inner door panels
Inner door panels
Rear lid frames
Rear lid frames
Side door panel
Side door panel
Housing for vibration dampersHousing for vibration dampersSteering wheel
Steering wheel
from "6 - High-pressure die-cast (HPDC) aluminium alloys for automotive applications"
Side door cast nodesSide door cast nodesHinge and latch door panels
Hinge and latch door panels

Technical Resource For Automotive

Fig.1 The growth trend of magnesium alloy in China’s automobile industry

Application of Automobile Lightweight Alloys and the Development of its Die-Casting Technology

1. Overview: Title: Application of Automobile Lightweight Alloys and the Development of its Die-Casting Technology Authors: Defang LIU, Jie TAO ...
Figure 1. a) Photograph of the as-solidified top surface of a sample of AM-HP2 cast in air and b) an optical photomicrograph near the ‘free’ surface of a section through the diameter of the casting shown in (a) and showing a very limited extent of oxidation.

AM-HP2: A New Magnesium High Pressure Diecasting Alloy for Automotive Powertrain Applications

This document summarizes the research paper "AM-HP2: A New Magnesium High Pressure Diecasting Alloy for Automotive Powertrain Applications" by Mark ...
Fig. 3. Temperature capability of various material classes (courtesy NASA Lewis)

Advanced metals for aerospace and automotive use

This paper summary is based on the article Advanced metals for aerospace and automotive use presented at the Materials Science ...
Figure 1. MMLV concept vehicle

Aluminum High-Pressure Vacuum Die Casting Applications for the Multi-Material Lightweight Vehicle (MMLV) Body Structure

1. Overview: Title: Aluminum High Pressure Vacuum Die Casting Applications for the Multi Material Lightweight Vehicle Program (MMLV) Body Structure ...
Figure 3. Squirrel cage rotor and its components manufactured from commercially pure aluminium via the high-pressure casting method.

Improving Electrical Conductivity of Commercially Pure Aluminium: The Synergistic Effect of AlB8 Master Alloy and Heat Treatment

This paper summary is based on the article "Improving Electrical Conductivity of Commercially Pure Aluminium: The Synergistic Effect of AlB8 ...
Figure 1 Gating system nomenclature [Casting Plant & Technology]

Computer Aided Design Library of Gating System for Die Casting

This paper summary is based on the article "Computer Aided Design Library of Gating System for a Die Casting" presented ...
Fig. 2 Clinching press of the company Eckold (down) and the company TOX (up); the used clinching tool system of the company BTM (down) and the company TOX (up)

Clinching of inductively heated aluminum die casting

This paper summary is based on the article "Clinching of inductively heated aluminum die casting" presented at the "Production Engineering" ...
Fig. 5. Experimental setup for inductive heating.

Clinching of Heated Aluminum Die Casting

This paper summary is based on the article "Clinching of Heated Aluminum Die Casting" presented at the "WGP 2021, LNPE, ...
Figure1. Sludge factor versus temperature [14, 16].

Casting Characteristics of Aluminum Die Casting Alloys

This paper summary is based on the article "Casting Characteristics of Aluminum Die Casting Alloys" presented at the "US Department ...
Figure 3: Composite Mg/Al cylinder crankcase

BMW’s Magnesium-Aluminium Composite Crankcase, State-of-the-Art Light Metal Casting and Manufacturing

This paper summary is based on the article BMW's Magnesium-Aluminium Composite Crankcase, State-of-the-Art Light Metal Casting and Manufacturing presented at ...
Fig.5: (a) Hollow aluminum casting; and (b) welded engine cradle for Cadillac CTS

Advanced Casting Technologies for Lightweight Automotive Applications

1. Overview: Title: Advanced casting technologies for lightweight automotive applications Authors: Alan A. Luo, Anil K. Sachdev, Bob R. Powell ...
Fig 5a: Shows the 3 main zones (boss) which are mandatory for this part to be considered porosity free

Added Value of Process Modelling in Development of Automotive Die Casting Parts

This paper summary is based on the article [Added Value of Process Modelling in Development of Automotive Die Casting Parts] ...
Figure 7. (a) Graphical illustration of a cold-chamber die casting machine. (b) Casting cycle for cold-chamber die casting [14].

Al Alloys and Casting Processes for BEV Induction Motors

Paper Summary:This paper summary is based on the article Al Alloys and Casting Processes for Induction Motor Applications in Battery-Powered ...
Fig. 1: Geometry of Ladder frame part used for simulation

Numerical determination of process parameters for fabrication of automotive component

This paper summary is based on the article Numerical determination of process parameters for fabrication of automotive component presented at ...
Figure 4. (a) Backscattered SEM micrograph showing the distribution of intermetallics along grain boundaries in Al-5Mg-1.5Si die-cast alloy, and (b) EDS diagram showing the elements in particle A.

A super-ductile alloy for the die-casting of aluminium automotive body structural components

1. Overview Title: A super-ductile alloy for the die-casting of aluminium automotive body structural components Authors: Douglas Watson, Shouxun Ji, ...

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