Gigacasting in Automotive: Revolution or Over Hyped Solution?

This is a summary of a very interesting interview made by İlkhan Ozsevim, if you are interested in the full version click here.

Automotive manufacturing is increasingly focused on simplifying processes and reducing the number of parts to manage the rising complexity with the transition to EVs. A key innovation in this area is "Megacasting" or "Gigacasting", introduced by Tesla with IDRA's Giga Press in 2020. This technique allows for the production of large chassis parts in fewer pieces, significantly streamlining the assembly process.

However it isn't necessarily a universal solution, different manufacturers might adapt this technology or its principles in varied ways to suit their specific production needs, market demands, and operational strategies.

AMS interviewed Volvo Cars’ Anirudha Shivappa, Advanced Engineering Leader, to get an idea of what the OEM is doing in this area. Shivappa explains that with Megacasting, Volvo Cars will replace around 100 stamped parts with a single cast part consequently eliminating thousands of welds and sub processes. He highlights the design flexibility offered by Megacasting, which allows for ongoing updates to vehicle design over time.

Shivappa emphasizes the environmental and efficiency benefits of using Megacasting, particularly with aluminum, which despite its energy-intensive production, Volvo mitigates by sourcing aluminum with a low carbon footprint. It also reduces waste, as they achieve a 95% material utilization by remelting casting scrap. He acknowledges that the main hurdle is the novelty of Megacasting, necessitating a rapid buildup of in-house expertise in areas like material quality and simulation capabilities.

Arnaud Deboeuf, Stellantis’ CMO, expressed skepticism about adopting Gigacasting.

Deboeuf emphasized the company's preference for incremental, pragmatic improvements that address immediate factory issues without necessitating significant redesigns. He highlighted the company's strategy of engaging with suppliers to find quick, globally applicable solutions that plant managers can implement independently, without the need for large capital expenditures or extensive modifications to existing infrastructure.

Jean-Christophe Marchal, a senior executive at Stellantis, echoed this sentiment by advocating for digital solutions that are user-friendly and do not require additional teams for setup or alterations to the factory floor. Stellantis has conducted studies on Tesla's Gigapress technology but currently sees no substantial benefits in terms of manufacturing efficiency or capital expenditure.

Asiaway Coming for the North American Market

On Friday the official LinkedIn account of Asiaway Group, posted an update about the company’s plans for its manufacturing base in San Luis Potosi, Mexico (right next to BMW and GM).

The second phase of their facility, scheduled to start production in the first quarter of 2025, has some interesting capabilities which revealed the company’s aggressive strategy to become a key supplier for underbody Gigacastings in the North American market.

As you can see from the image below, the company planned high pressure die casting equipment ranging from 3,500 to 16,000 ton, including 5,000 ton, 7,200 ton and 12,000 ton die casting machines.

I reached out to the company for more information and they kindly replied that “some of the mentioned HPDC machines have already been ordered and will be available at the Mexican plant in Q2 2025”.

Meanwhile the company has ordered 6,600 ton and 9,000 ton machines from LK Machinery for its Chinese manufacturing base, some of which already producing parts for Chinese Electric Vehicle makers.

Seres Update

Seres Group has announced plans to invest 13.2 billion Yuan ($1.9 billion) to expand its intelligent product development and manufacturing capabilities. The planned investment includes a 5 billion yuan capital injection into its subsidiary, Seres Automobile, to nearly double its registered capital to nearly 10 billion yuan.

At the same time, it will acquire 100% of Longsheng New Energy’s equity through a transaction price of 8.164 billion Yuan ($1.157 billion) thereby obtaining the ownership of the Seres Super Factory, built by Longsheng New Energy, to ensure its autonomy and control over the production and manufacturing of new energy vehicles.

Seres factory is equipped with several 9,000 ton die casting islands for the production of rear underbody Gigacastings for the Aito M9. The machines are owned and operated by Wencan.

Wencan Group has two die-casting bases in Chongqing and are both located inside buildings belonging to the Seres Automobile Super Factory.

Quick News

Xpeng

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BYD

BYD Auto Industry bought the remaining 10% of Denza’s share owned by Mercedes-Benz. So Mercedes has completely withdrawn from the Denza brand.

Guangdong Hongtu

New patent (CN202110889759.XA) from 2021 published regarding a Horizontal high-vacuum die-casting system. You can find the patent by clicking here.

This Week’s Gallery

Tesla Gigafactory Texas by Joe Tegtmeyer

Honda North America published a video about the delivery and installation of their first Giga Press at their new Megacasting production base in Anna, Ohio.

You can find the video by clicking here.