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Weekly Gigacasting News 27
7/4/2025 - 20/4/2025. EXCLUSIVE: Toyota orders 9,000t Giga Press for Chinese plant. GISSCO Giga semi solid aluminum machine. Yizumi new semi solid aluminum machine. Guangdong Hongtu solution for Gigacastings "Shop in Shop" approach. 3,000t magnesium thixomolding machine delivered.
Luca Greco
April 20, 2025
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GISSCO Giga Semi-Solid Slurry Making Machine
Last week Jess Wannasin, CEO of GISSCO, announced that the company is preparing to deliver its first GISS GIGA Unit, a milestone in aluminum Rheocasting technology.
GISSCO specializes in slurry-making machines that produce semi solid aluminum slurry by injecting micro sized inert gas bubbles into liquid metal.
This rheocasting process enhances part quality by minimizing gas and shrinkage porosity, and reduces costs by extending tool life and reducing cycle time.
The GISS GIGA Unit, nearing delivery, can produce up to 100 kg of semi solid aluminum alloy slurry. Just months ago, GISSCO successfully created a 60 kg slurry with this machine, as shared by by Jess on LinkedIn.
Additional information shared by Jess:
It takes approximately 5-10 seconds of GISS processing to create a superheated slurry for Gigacasting, which is performed during the die dwell and spray time. By using GISS, the cycle time of the Gigacasting process can be reduced due to faster solidification.
We are currently conducting a slug-cutting test to demonstrate that the superheated slurry can consistently produce a uniform SSM structure. (The waiting time to get to 50% solid fraction is indeed longer than 90 seconds due to the massive heat content of big volume)
We have optimized the system to match the cycle time of high-pressure die casting machines. The resulting solid fraction depends on the specific alloy used and the process parameters applied.
Yizumi New Machine for Semi Solid Aluminum
Yizumi has delivered a 1250t semi solid aluminum alloy die casting machine to GRIMAT Engineering Institute.
This machine incorporates Yizumi proprietary semi solid forming technologies. It excels in producing complex, thick and thin walled structural components, ensuring uniform mold cavity filling for enhanced casting integrity and consistency. The intensification pressure exceeds 300 MPa.
Yizumi has a strong expertise in semi solid forming technology, in fact prior to this, Yizumi had successfully launched 3,200t and 2,000t magnesium thixomolding machines with plans to increase the size further in the coming months.
Details about what technology is used to form the semi solid aluminum slurry remain undisclosed unfortunately.
Toyota Chinese Plant Update & Exclusive Insight
A few months ago, Toyota announced that its Lexus brand would establish a wholly-owned production facility in Shanghai dedicated to pure electric vehicles. Read more about this development in Gigacasting News 22.
Last week, Toyota acquired 1,127 km² (435 mi²) of land in Shanghai for its first fully owned factory in China, at a cost of 1.334 billion yuan ($182 million).
In my earlier article (Gigacasting News 22) I speculated that Lexus would implement Gigacasting technology and the unboxed manufacturing process at the Shanghai plant, aligning with the advanced methods planned for its Japanese facilities by 2026.
Recent exclusive information indicates that Toyota is close to signing a deal for 9,000 ton die casting machines for the Lexus plant in Shanghai, with Haitian as the likely supplier.
Toyota’s three-part modular structure
Guangdong Hongtu’s “Shop in Shop” Solution for Gigacastings
On March 5-6, 2025, the Global Giga-Casting Congress convened at the University of Kassel, Germany, drawing over 400 experts to explore advancements in Gigacasting technology.
Guangdong Hongtu, a leader in Gigacasting in China, delivered a keynote address. Leveraging extensive experience with 7,000t to 16,000t die casting units, the company has successfully mass produced ultra large automotive structural components.
Dr. Lin Yun introduced Guangdong Hongtu’s “Factory within a Factory” model.
This approach enables die casting suppliers to establish dedicated facilities within automakers’ production sites, delivering Gigacasting products and technical support in close proximity.
By integrating supply chain resources, the model fosters collaboration among die casting, equipment, and mold suppliers, as well as automakers, from the product design phase.
This optimizes cost structures early, enhancing quality, efficiency, and cost effectiveness throughout production.
Dr. Lin emphasized that the key to unlocking Gigacasting’s full potential lies in deeper technical and commercial collaboration between automakers and die casting suppliers.
Since 2023, Guangdong Hongtu’s Guangzhou factory, the world’s first Gigacasting “Shop-in-Shop” has been operational. It has installed 7,000t, 12,000t and 16,000t die casting machines.
Hongtu supplies front and rear underbody Gigacastings to Xpeng’s G6, X9, P7+ and upcoming models.
Xpeng Guangzhou factory
Dongguan Eontec Quick Update
Chinese media reported that Dongguan Eontec announced on a retail investor interaction platform that its new JSW 3,000 ton magnesium thixomolding machine is currently undergoing installation and commissioning.
JSW 3,000t magnesium Thixomolding machine
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