During the die casting technology symposium at Euroguss 2024, Marco Gandini, Senior Vice President of Global Aluminum Industry at Norican and General Manager of ItalPresseGauss, shared his insights on the future of die casting and foundries under current conditions.

Notably, Gandini refrained from emphasizing the industry’s current challenges, rather perceiving the overall situation as an opportunity to further develop die casting technology into a disruptive force. He also acknowledged the escalating costs of raw materials and energy, the imperative to reduce emissions and implement energy-efficient processes, and the severe shortage of skilled labor as significant yet invigorating challenges.

The global aluminum market is projected to reach nearly $280 billion by 2030, propelled by the rise of electric vehicles, driven by the European Union’s carbon dioxide reduction targets. However, electrification necessitates larger, superior, and lighter components, demanding novel casting designs and seamless integration to reduce weight and simplify assembly. The trailblazers will be those who adeptly innovate to produce new components in a sustainable and cost-effective manner while conserving resources.

Gandini outlined the following reference benchmarks for disruptive technology:

• Zero-shot technology: Machinery with a smaller footprint, enhanced rigidity, and reduced wearing components, thereby enhancing reliability and performance.

• Flexibility: A key element in adapting to the contemporary manufacturing environment.

• Distinctive features in part design and their contribution to waste reduction: Diminishing waste equates to curbing unnecessary usage of materials, energy, time, and operational costs.

• Harnessing advancements in automation and digitization.

• Integrated die casting: Deliberating cell design and equipment integration, with a primary trend being in-unit melting.

The realm of digitization capitalizes on the pivotal benefits of intelligent data utilization and gathering, along with artificial intelligence solutions.

Gandini opines that the result of these endeavors will be reduced production costs, diminished energy consumption, lowered carbon dioxide emissions, and augmented productivity, affirming the potential of die casting, a traditional process, to wield disruptive influence in the future.