SOUNDCAST

Vacuum-assisted high pressure die castings with reduced porosity at low cost

 Partecipanti

Mappa

 Word cloud

Esplora la "nuvola delle parole (Word Cloud) per avere un'idea di massima del progetto.

 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'The necessity of preserving resources and to reduce environmental pollution makes light weight concepts and recycling highly interesting for the transportation market, being light weight essential for newly developed electric and hybrid vehicles.

At the present, the use of aluminium high pressure die castings for structural applications in the automotive industry is limited due the presence of porosity inherent to the fabrication process. High vacuum processes can reduce porosity significantly, but both the capital investment and the process costs are very high.

On the other hand, the use of cheaper adaptable vacuum systems it is still not very popular in SME foundries, despite of significant technological improvements during the last years; this is mainly because of the complexity of this process, the need for improved process stability and deeper metallurgical knowledge of the alloys used in these new applications.

The aim of the SOUNDCAST project is to provide the SME die caster with an innovative and environmentally friendly technology to produce sound and weldable high performance castings by a low cost vacuum assisted high pressure die casting (VPDC) process.

During the project the link between the most important parameters that enhance porosity will be established, and a versatile technology package which optimizes the whole fabrication process will be developed including: - Numerical simulation of die filling and solidification - Special die design - Use of a “state of the art vacuum” valve - HPDC process parameter optimization - Optimized die and shot sleeve lubrication for welding applications - Development of quality control software - Development of a new recycled alloy(s) with high mechanical properties - Melt and heat treatment optimization for the new recycled alloy(s) - Development of a new laser welding process at reduced pressure The developed know-how and technologies will be demonstrated and validated in SME foundries.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

EU-funded scientists are developing innovative, more environmentally friendly technologies to make stronger die castings.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

The drive for improved fuel efficiencies in the automobile industry has led to continuing growth in aluminium die casting. Larger and more complex parts are being cast and this has set new challenges to die casters in their quest for improved quality and productivity.

Porosities that are inherent to the fabrication process are limiting widespread use of aluminium high-pressure die casting (HPDC). Although inexpensive adaptable high-vacuum processes are significantly reducing porosities, the high complexity of this process has made die casters brush aside this alternative.

Scientists initiated the EU-funded project 'Vacuum-assisted high pressure die castings with reduced porosity at low cost' (http://www.soundcastproject.eu/ (SOUNDCAST)) to produce weldable high-performance castings using a low-cost vacuum-assisted HPDC.

The optimised fabrication technology should enable large, thin-walled and complicated component development with recycled aluminium alloys of minimal porosity and excellent mechanical and welding properties.Use of alternative recycled alloy will not only cut down fabrication costs but also carbon dioxide emissions. Developing new innovative control software suitable for low-cost vacuum-assisted HPDC processes will ensure process stability and casting quality of SOUNDCAST technology. The benefits will also be applied to conventional HPDC processes.

To date, scientists have fabricated a die for evaluating alloy mechanical properties and the vacuum-assisted HPDC. Porosities were significantly reduce using simulation tools and a special vacuum system to optimise HPDC process parameters. A new recycled alloy with improved mechanical properties was also developed through microalloying.

A software quality control system is already available for optimising recycled alloy melt treatment. Furthermore, scientists have selected a fully automatic die spraying system and die lubricants, and also optimised their process parameters.

By dint of project members' work, the aluminium component market should extend to lower-class vehicles. With low-cost high-quality technologies, the European casting sector will be able to compete with low-wage countries.