"Structural components have clearly gained in importance in the automotive industry over the last years, with a trend towards even larger parts. This presents a clear opportunity for the die-casting industry,” saId Cornel Mendler, managing director Die Casting.
Larger and more complex parts produced in the die-casting process are a current trend. The automotive market is seeing the discussion of new body-in-white-concepts, with a tendency to ever larger parts produced in aluminium die casting.
This offers the possibility to functionally integrate various other parts, producing them in one shot, instead of in various production steps. This, in turn, reduces complexity and increases productivity in the automotive manufacturing process for the body-in-white.
“We are seeing an entire front or entire back of a car produced in one shot, coming out of a die-casting machine every two minutes. With this we see huge potential for an even more efficient production process for the automotive industry and a fascinating opportunity for die casting,” added Mendler.
The new Carat 560 and Carat 610 with locking forces of up to 61,000 kilonewton (kN) are the latest addition to Bühler’s portfolio. In November 2020, Bühler announced the Carat 840 – with a locking force of 84,000 kN.
“The Carat platform has been on the market since 2007 and has always been the solution for large die-cast parts. In 2020, we saw a huge increase in the demand for ever larger machines, up to machines double the size as before. Therefore, we are very proud that we were able to announce the Carat 840,” said Martin Lagler, global director product management & marketing for Bühler Die Casting.
Imagine a die-casting machine as a big as a house, at 6 meters high and standing on a floorspace of over 60 square meters. It is not only the dimensions that are impressive, but also the performance. “The Carat 610 is able to cast over 100 kg of liquid aluminum into a die within milliseconds, thereby holding the die tight by applying a force of 61,000 kN to it. This is comparable to having a thousand elephants sitting on the die,” added Lagler.
Bühler not only provides die-casting machines for the automotive industry, but also for other innovative solutions. To help meet the rising demand for batteries, Bühler offers novel technologies for the efficient production of electrode active materials and electrode slurries. The solutions include equipment for wet grinding of active materials and precursors, as well as continuous twin-screw electrode slurry mixers.
