SQUEEZE CAST AUTOMOTIVE APPLICATIONS AND DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

With an increasing emphasis on vehicle weight reduction, the demand for lighter weight automotive components continues to increase. Squeeze casting is an established shape-casting process that is capable of producing lightweight, high integrity automotive components that can be used for structural applications. In recent years the squeeze casting process has been used with various aluminum alloys to produce near-net shape components requiring high strength, ductility, pressure tightness or high wear resistance [1]. Squeeze casting has proven to be an economical casting process for high volume applications and offers design and materials engineers an alternative to conventional casting processes such as gravity permanent mold (GPM), low pressure die casting (LPDC), sand cast aluminum/ iron, and conventional high pressure die casting (HPDC). This paper describes Contech’s squeeze casting technology (P2000TM) and provides examples of high volume automotive components manufactured at Contech. This paper also includes product design considerations, an overview of process simulation techniques, a comparison of mechanical properties, and case studies for select automotive components.