With GIFA just a few weeks away, what are the main trends and technologies that die casters should expect to see and hear about at this year’s event?
To answer this question, Thomas Fritsch, CEO Foundry Planet, recently caught up with ItalPresseGauss' Managing Director and Norican’s Senior Vice President of Global Aluminum, Dr. Marco Gandini, to ask his views.
Here’s a quick summary of some of some of the topics covered, or you can read the full interview here.
Sustainability will underpin virtually everything at GIFA this year, with much greater emphasis on the practical technologies that will help die casters meet new demands. Rising gas and electricity prices mean that cutting energy consumption isn’t just “a sustainable good”, it is a business imperative.
As is being able to demonstrate lower carbon emissions – especially to e-mobility end customers increasingly making this a condition of contracts.
Die casters know that demand is only increasing for lightweighted parts and consolidated ‘single-piece’ structural castings. But how do you cost effectively invest in the right equipment to meet this brief when part designs and performance requirements are still evolving. By ensuring flexibility is a functional characteristic of die casting equipment. Which is certainly the case with our own award winning modular TFs Smart series range that will be showcased this year.
Giant casting is going to be a major focus at GIFA, with more foundries seeking routes to cost-effectively cast larger, lighter structural components that help reduce overall vehicle weight. But other than requiring bigger closing forces, what else do die casters need to consider in selecting the right equipment for the task?
The benefits of in-cell melting. Energy consumption. Features and automated correction capabilities that increase casting accuracy to minimise scrap. These are all in the mix. As Marco points out in his interview, “It’s not just about thinking bigger. It’s about thinking ‘better’.”
Digital solutions, including AI-based innovations, have risen to the forefront of foundry and die casting discussions in recent years. And given their ability to boost productivity and hone in on scrap reducing improvements – all great for supporting sustainability objectives – this is still going to be a core focus area for GIFA 2023. Equally applicable to die casters adopting giant casting solutions for serving e-mobility markets as it is to smaller set-ups producing specialist electronics components.