Until recently, the largest single-cast parts in automotive production have been parts such as die-cast strut rails. However, the investment into giga casting by Tesla is driving a massive change in the industry. The ability to create large cast parts in a single piece can disrupt traditional automotive manufacturing, forcing fundamental change across the industry. 

As automotive manufacturers continue to invest in the potential of giga casting, there are undoubtedly huge opportunities for future automotive production and supply chains that are more sustainable. But there are also key challenges. 

This blog article looks at the opportunities and potential difficulties created by giga casting technology within the automotive industry.

What are the benefits of giga casting?

• Part count reduction. This allows cars to be manufactured that are lighter. Lightweighting is key to increasing sustainability through reduced material usage and fuel needed. Lightweighting increases the potential range for electric vehicles - key to increasing consumer uptake.

• This part count reduction also allows increased flexibility in certain aspects of vehicle platform engineering. 

• Giga casting has created the opportunity for a fundamental paradigm shift in automotive manufacturing, providing manufacturers and engineers with the opportunity to make massive changes to supply chains and production. 

• New approach to car body construction. This is especially important for batteries in EV cars, where the battery tray is a new core part that requires integration. Giga casting can provide key solutions to this. 

Watch more in our GW Insights Video: Will the automotive industry adopt giga casting?

Read more: Material innovations that are making vehicles lighter

Watch more: Will mega casting influence non-automotive industries? 

What are the challenges of giga casting?

• To adopt giga casting production, there are substantial space challenges and investment requirements for factories and foundries. 

• Compared to traditional sheet metal shell construction, it may not always be effective for certain facilities and vehicle models to adopt giga casting. 

• The cost and investment required in adopting giga casting are massive. For OEMs currently using traditional automotive manufacturing methods, investment in giga casting technology may not make immediate financial sense. This technological write-off must be considered. 

There are also some significant technical challenges for engineers 

These include:

• Achieving the correct wall thickness required in the casting.
• Multiple assemblies in traditional manufacturing can achieve specific designs, geometries and features that can be difficult with single mono castings. Engineers must design accordingly (and with innovation) to overcome these challenges.
• Joining traditional sheet metal parts can be automated efficiently and cost-effectively. Single, large casting production can be more expensive, limiting the scope of large-scale production.
• Single large castings also require different material concepts to reduce distortion following heat treatment. As a result, engineers are turning to natural hard alloys, which are stronger and more ductile. 

Conclusion

While there are challenges with giga casting and large single cast parts, the increase of giga casting offers significant opportunities in automotive manufacturing, effectively creating a paradigm shift that will impact supply chains, manufacturers and consumers.

As sustainability continues to drive focus and future planning, giga casting is likely to be increasingly used; and engineers, manufacturers and foundries should be prepared for this shift.

To find out more about how sand casting can support the production of electric vehicles, download our free eBook, Making EV Components with Sand Casting.