2/7/2024 Report Industry events

Winners of the European Die Casting Award honored

Die Casting is constantly evolving. In the automotive industry, but also in other areas, it enables technological progress and is conquering new areas of application. The Die Casting Award, which was held for the second time after its successful premiere two years ago, provides an important showcase for highly sophisticated cast products. The winners were honored on January 16 at EUROGUSS 2024 in Nuremberg.

The 23rd Die Casting Day, which was organized by the Association of German Die Casting Foundries (VDD) and the Federal Association of the German Foundry Industry (BDG), provided the perfect setting for the award. The conference regularly offers exhibitors at the trade fair, Die Casting foundries, the supply industry, universities and institutes as well as users a platform to present new technologies, process and material developments as well as new areas of application and to discuss them with experts.

State Secretary Tobias Gotthardt praised the innovative strength of the industry.

"Enabler for many other industries"

At the opening of the Die Casting Day, Tobias Gotthardt, State Secretary in the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, was impressed by the innovative strength of the industry, for which he expressed his thanks on behalf of politicians. "You are at the heart of our economy and an enabler for many other industries," he said in his opening speech.

A total of 25 entries were submitted to the European Die Casting Award 2024 in the three categories of magnesium, zinc and aluminum. They were individually assessed by the 12-member jury and evaluated in terms of innovation, quality, cost-effectiveness, resource-efficient design and level of difficulty. Thomas Krüger, Managing Director of the VDD, and Christopher Boss, Managing Director of EUROGUSS, presented the participating experts with their certificates at the trade fair.

The team from the BMW plant in Landshut won in the "Aluminum" category.

Winner of the "Aluminum" category

1st place:
Support structure for a hybrid instrument panel, BMW Group, Landshut

For this component near the steering column, the BMW designers succeeded in replacing the magnesium previously used with aluminum, which has a significantly smaller ecological footprint and also offers cost advantages. Sustainability has been significantly increased without increasing the weight, partly because wall thicknesses have been reduced to around 1.5 millimeters. This was made possible by innovative 4-plate mold technology. In addition, the reduced risk of fire during casting and machining increases occupational safety in the factory.

2nd place:
E-coil for wheel hub motor, Oskar Ketterer Druckgießerei GmbH, Furtwangen

3rd place:
Oil Cooler Cover, Lijunghäll Grub AB, Gnutti Carlo Group, Maclodio, Italy

Die Casting Award 2024 - Winner of the "Aluminium" category

Die casting award 2024 - Winner of the "Aluminium" category

Awarded: Representatives of TCG UNITECH are honored for their magnesium casting.

Winner of the "Magnesium" category

1st place:
Housing for head-up display, TCG UNITECH GmbH, Kirchdorf an der Krems, Austria

The very light and thin-walled housing impressed the jury with its high precision and lightweight construction, which is achieved without mechanical processing. It gives the customer from the automotive industry a cost advantage because it projects a clear image onto the windshield via the light source and several mirrors. The component, which requires a highly complex and precise mold, represents a new generation of head-up display housings without machining.

2nd place:
Cylinder head cover W16, Audi AG, Neckarsulm

3rd place:
Console for the MC 3.0 steering column, POWER-CAST Zitzmann GmbH & Co. KG, Stockheim

Die Casting Award 2024 - Winner of the "Magnesium" category

Winner of the "Zinc" category

1st place:
Cover 4-consumer for high-quality sanitary shower system, HDO Druckguß- und Oberflächentechnik GmbH, Paderborn

The component is used as a cover for a concealed shower fitting in the premium sector. The large visible surface and very high demands on surface quality and evenness (due to the possibility of wall mounting) are challenging in terms of design and casting technology. The die-casting process offers the customer cost advantages compared to production by milling from the solid or forging. By using recycled zinc, a lot of CO2 can be saved compared to brass.

2nd place:
Lion Housing PMCR 2.0 - electronic housing for mining, Dipl.-Ing. Siegfried Müller GmbH & Co. KG, Velbert

3rd place:
Grommet housing SACC-CT-P12MSX, Dynacast Deutschland GmbH, Bräunlingen