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High-Pressure Die-Casting: Contradictions and Challenges

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High-Pressure Die-Casting: Contradictions
and Challenges

Franco Bonollo, Nicola Gramegna &

Giulio Timelli

JOM
The Journal of The Minerals, Metals &
Materials Society (TMS)

ISSN 1047-4838
Volume 67
Number 5

JOM (2015) 67:901-908

DOI 10.1007/s11837-015-1333-8

1 23
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 Author's personal copy
JOM, Vol. 67, No. 5, 2015
DOI: 10.1007/s11837-015-1333-8
Ó 2015 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society

High-Pressure Die-Casting: Contradictions and Challenges

FRANCO BONOLLO,1,3 NICOLA GRAMEGNA,2,4 and GIULIO TIMELLI1,5

1.—Department of Management and Engineering, University of Padova, Stradella S. Nicola, 3,

36100 Vicenza, Italy. 2.—Enginsoft Spa, Via Giambellino, 7, 35129 Padua, Italy. 3.—e-mail:
bonollo@gest.unipd.it. 4.—e-mail: n.gramegna@enginsoft.it. 5.—e-mail: timelli@gest.unipd.it

High-pressure die casting (HPDC) is particularly suitable for high production

rates and it is applied in several industrial fields; actually, approximately half
of the world production of light metal castings is obtained by this technology.
An overview of the actual status of HPDC technology is described in the
current work, where both critical aspects and potential advantages are evi-
denced. Specific attention is paid to the quality requirements from the end
users, as well as to the achievable production rate, the process monitoring and
control, and the European and worldwide scenario. This overview leads to
individuate the most relevant challenges for HPDC industry: ‘‘zero-defect’’
production, real-time process control, understanding the role of the process
variables, process optimization, introduction of research and development
activities, and disseminating the knowledge about HPDC technology. Per-
forming these actions, HPDC foundries could achieve a more mature and
efficient approach to large end users and exploit their really relevant potential.

velocities between 30 m/s and 60 m/s (i.e.,

INTRODUCTION
approximately 100–200 km/h).3–5
High-pressure die casting (HPDC) is particularly  The subsequent extremely short filling time
suitable for high production rates, and it is applied in (50–100 ms1,2) guarantees the perfect filling of
several industrial fields; actually, approximately half complex-shaped castings with thin wall thickness,
of the world production of light metal castings is such as ribs, before metal solidification.
obtained by this technology. In the HPDC of alu-  During the solidification, the metal contracts,
minum alloys, cold-chamber die casting machines are leaving eventually shrinkage porosity in the
typically used, in which the metal injection system is casting.
only in contact with the molten metal for a short  The process tries to overcome these physical
period. Liquid metal, maintained in a holding furnace phenomena by pressing liquid metal into the die
at a desired temperature, is generally ladled (or using several atmospheres (up to 120 MPa).6,7
metered with some other method) into the shot sleeve
Because of the complexity of the HPDC, while the
for each cycle. Several operations are involved in the
scrap rate in other production lines, such as the
whole HPDC process, from the spraying and blowing
machining processes, is measured in parts per mil-
out the die to the opening and closing of the die, even if
lion (ppm), the scrap rate of castings lies in the
the main steps are the filling of the shot chamber, the
range of parts per hundred (a percentage).8, 9 HPDC
injection of the metal into the die, the solidification
is widely employed, for instance, in the production
and the further extraction of the casting (Fig. 1).
of automotive components; approximately 60% of
Therefore, the HPDC is a complex process, not only
the light alloy castings in this field are made by
due to the phase transformation the metal undergoes
HPDC, and a rough estimation could be 80–100 kg
when solidifying in the die.1,2 In fact:
on average of HPDC components in cars in the
 The production of high-pressure die castings European Union.8 But the amount of scraps is
begins by first pouring liquid metal into a steel sometime embarrassing: it is not uncommon to have
shot sleeve. 5–10% of scraps, due to different kinds of defects, in
 A piston accelerates quickly and transports the almost all cases detected during or after the final
molten metal into a steel die, resulting in metal operations (e.g., machining or painting).9

(Published online February 27, 2015) 901

 Author's personal copy
902 Bonollo, Gramegna, and Timelli

Fig. 1. The process chain of HPDC.

120 MPa during the solidification) and the die

CONTRADICTIONS OF HPDC PROCESS AND
(contact with a molten alloy at more than 600°C
THE RELATED CHALLENGES
and, after few seconds, with a sprayed lubricant at
When the HPDC technology is approached, at room temperature) are submitted, the difficulty to
least six contradictory features can be individuated, maintain constant process parameters and the lack
as shown in Table I. From this table, it seems that of interactions among the process control units
each attractive issue of HPDC is counterbalanced by make the HPDC a defect-generating process. Not
technical or structural difficulties, conveying, in the only an average 5–10% scrap is consequently pro-
opinion of the authors, at six interrelated chal- duced, but also the type, size, and criticism of
lenges, which must be faced by HPDC-related defects are various. According to a recently proposed
companies through: classification of defects for HPDC components,10 9
different subclasses of defects, with more than 30
1. Leading to ‘‘zero-defect environment’’.
specific types of defects, can be identified, as shown
2. Introducing real-time tools for process control.
in Table II, where an estimated frequency of
3. Monitoring and correlating all the main process
occurrence is also presented.
variables.
Each stage of the traditional HPDC process can
4. Making the process set up and optimization a
generate these defects, which fall within three
knowledge-based issue.
categories at the first level of the aforementioned
5. Multi-disciplinary research and development
classification, that is, surface defects, internal and
(R&D) activities.
surface defects, and geometrical defects (Fig. 2).10
6. Impacting on HPDC scenario.
All defects can then be classified in detail, their
Each of these six challenges will be described, both morphology and origin are well known, and in some
in terms of actual technologies and approaches, and cases, an advanced engineering tool such as nu-
of future and innovative solutions. merical process simulation can be used for their
prediction (see Table I).13 The reliability of virtual
tools has been experimentally validated with refer-
Leading HPDC to ‘‘Zero-Defect Environment’’
ence to specific subclasses of defects.
The extreme conditions to which the molten alloy Some of the process parameters and experimental
(speed of molten metal at ingates up to 60 ms 1, variables that generate possible defects can be
cooling rate up to 103°C/s, and pressures up to monitored by dedicated sensors and devices. One of
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High-Pressure Die-Casting: Contradictions and Challenges 903

Table I. Contradictory features in HPDC

1. The final application fields of HPDC But Among the foundry and forming tech-
products are increasingly requiring en- nologies, HPDC is certainly the most
hanced quality, reliability, and safety critical one in terms of defects formation
and poor reliability of products
2. HPDC is a manufacturing route that But Actually, the quality control is per-
becomes highly advantageous when formed at the end of the production,
great production rate is required with no real-time correction of critical
parameters
3. A variety of HPDC process parameters But The quality relevant process parameters
is measured today and used for defect are monitored by individual control sys-
detection tems of the equipment and no interfac-
ing to the resulting part quality takes
place
4. HPDC is highly automated and extend- But The in-field HPDC process setup and
ed use of process simulation techniques optimization is still based on specific
is done by the companies experience and skill of few persons
5. HPDC companies are innovation-sensi- But Being SMEs, the internal R&D potential
tive, with investments mainly directed of the companies is relatively limited,
at increasing the production capacity and innovation needs multidisciplinary
(27%), efficiency (22%), products quality integration and cooperation (quite
(13%)11 unusual for SMEs)
6. HPDC products are typically addressed But Ninety percent of EU light alloys HPDC
to Large Industries, for assembling foundries are SMEs, with an average
components, systems, machines to be number of employees going from less
used in widely extended markets than 20 (IT) to 30–40 (PT, FR, SE), 55
(NO), up to 90–100 (ES, DE)12

Table II. Classification of HPDC defects and frequency of occurrence10

Defect Frequency of Predictable by Experimental Monitoring

subclass occurrence (%) simulation? validation parameter
Shrinkage defects 20 Only partially X-Rays, Microscopy Temperature,
pressure,
metal front
sensors
Gas-related defects 15 No X-Rays, Microscopy, Air pressure,
blister test humidity
Filling related defects 35 Yes Visual inspection, Air pressure,
leakage tests metal front
sensors, tem-
perature
Undesired phases 5 No Microscopy Shot chamber
sensoring
Thermal contraction defects 5 Yes Visual inspection, Temperature
Microscopy
Metal-die interaction defects 5 Only partially Microscopy Temperature,
ejection force
Out of tolerance 5 By advanced simulation Visual inspection, Geometry
Metrology measures
Lack of material 5 Yes Visual inspection, Geometry
Metrology measures
Excess of material, flash 5 By advanced simulation Visual inspection, Geometry
Metrology measures
The possibilities of prediction, validation and monitoring of defects are also indicated.

the shortcomings of the HPDC is that the overall of the holding furnace is controlled separately, and
complexity of the process is not handled by a single the lubrication system only controls the lubricant
information system: the machine controls only pressures and its application times. Within the dies,
measure the machine parameters, the temperature where the solidification of the metal occurs rapidly
 Author's personal copy
904 Bonollo, Gramegna, and Timelli

Fig. 2. Classification of defects and their origin.10

and the final quality of component is determined,

hardly no process parameter is measured, neither
controlled nor related to the final casting quality.
The challenge of leading HPDC to a ‘‘zero-defect
environment’’ requires advanced engineering tools
that can manage the complexity of the process. The
identification of key variables, the knowledge of the
variables–defects relationship, and the implemen-
tation of real time sensor device must be managed
by these tools, with the capability to integrate all
this information and to carry out reactive strategies
to instantaneously balance the process in view of a
zero-defect production.

Introducing Real-Time Tools for Process

Control
It is well known that HPDC with a low cycle time
is particularly suitable when high production rates Fig. 3. Manufacturing convenience of different foundry processes as
are required. The high costs associated with the a function of production rate and Al casting weight.14
tools and dies are compensated when at least 5,000–
10,000 castings/year are produced (Fig. 3).14 If this
manufacturing context is considered, it is clear that final users, strongly affecting costs and delivery
quality investigations (carried out on a statistical time.
base or on the whole production) are a critical issue, Advanced sensors applied to HPDC will allow first
which must be as close as possible to the instant of the continuous control of the process itself, record-
the formation of defects. Actually, the detection of ing and monitoring the evolution of all the variables
defects is usually carried out at the end of the during each cycle, to identify the deviations from
manufacturing cycle, often only by visual inspection the original setup. Completely new hardware and
or with a delay that cannot be still accepted by the software solutions are needed, which must be
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High-Pressure Die-Casting: Contradictions and Challenges 905

Fig. 4. Actual HPDC process architecture.

incorporated into the tools and dies to achieve a – In the overall casting process, there is partial
reactive control of the quality. control of the precasting stages, which are focused
on the setup of degassing treatment, furnace
Monitoring and Correlating All the Main level, and metal transfer from the holding furnace
Process Variables to the shoot sleeve. On the other side, the HPDC
machine setup is actually the most controlled
HPDC machines are equipped with sensors and
system.
devices that allow to measure basic process data
– In the die management process, the temperature
such as hydraulic pressure or piston velocity. If the
and the other parameters of conditioning media
filling time varied only in the range of milliseconds,
(water and oil) are set up and managed, but the
then there would be an impact on content and
correlations with the final casting quality are
location of defects.15 Because the filling time is in
performed only when the causes of defect have to
the range of milliseconds, the piston velocity has to
be individuated, while no action is preliminary
be controlled one order of magnitude faster, which is
carried out to prevent defect formation.
not the case in the equipment state of the art. Up to
– In the postcasting operations (including machin-
now, other relevant issues have not been taken into
ing, and heat and surface treatments), the main
account at all, although each of them can impact on
variables are certainly recorded (e.g., robot and
casting quality: for instance, thermal loads change
cutting equipments show position-time control of
the geometry of the shot sleeve and lead to a delayed
movement), but their setup is usually defined a
filling with a consequent reduction of liquid tem-
priori, without considering the possible gen-
perature and presolidification in the shot sleeve.
eration of defects.
Taking into account the actual process architecture
(Fig. 4): From the described situation, the need of an effec-
tive integration in the design and manufacturing
– In the product and process design, only the
chain of HPDC components appears clearly,
mechanical performance of the final component
including the following:
is considered, neglecting the real behavior of
the diecast alloys, which results also from the – Sophisticated and accurate interpretation of the
presence and characteristics of defects and results to estimate the process output as well as
imperfections. the scale and morphology of the defects.
 Author's personal copy
906 Bonollo, Gramegna, and Timelli

personal than a company’s ownership. This impacts

strongly on the production costs, whose determina-
tion becomes uncertain and variable.
Generally speaking, a traditional quality man-
agement perspective is employed in HPDC. This
approach assumes that the failure costs decrease as
the money spent on appraisal and prevention
increases, and an effort level (optimum) can be
applied for the quality management in any situation,
minimizing the overall investment costs. As the
effort increases, the costs of providing it, through
further inspection procedures, get higher than the
benefits achieved. However, it is interesting to
observe that the costs of errors and faulty products
decrease due to these investments. The inevitability
Fig. 5. Evolution on the use of Al alloys in the automotive sector.21 of errors is accepted with this traditional approach;
failure costs are generally underestimated and pre-
vention costs are considered inevitably high. The
– The use of advanced sensors to monitor the level importance of quality for each operator is not as-
of hydrogen and inclusions in the molten bath, as sessed, and preventing errors is not considered an
well as the temperature and volume both in the integral part of everyone’s work. Training, automatic
holding furnace and in the ladle during the melt checks, and anything that helps to prevent errors
transfer. occurring are often considered simply as costs.
– The use of real-time sensors to control the The breakthrough expected for the HPDC is the
position, acceleration, and velocities of the plun- change from a simple input setup to a dynamic total
ger and to correlate these parameters to the final quality management (TQM).19 This implies that the
product quality, on the basis of empirical or set up process will be accelerated and a continuous
semiempirical multivariable models. activity for cost optimization will independently
– Specific sensors (temperature, pressure, run, parallel to the manufacturing process itself.
humidity, and air pressure) dedicated to real- The TQM method, which stresses the relative bal-
time monitoring of the thermal–mechanical ance between the different types of quality costs
behavior of the die, including special reaction rather than looking for an optimum level of quality
devices to modify the process in view of zero- efforts, must be implemented in the HPDC foun-
defects self-adaptation by active gate section dries. This approach emphasizes the prevention to
variation16 or venting valve modification.17,18 stop errors happening in the first place rather than
– The prediction of the durability of the die by place most emphasis on appraisal. The greater the
simulating the deterioration mechanisms. effort paid for error prevention, the more the in-
– The control of the lubrication process by tem- ternal and external costs of failure are reduced.
perature, flux, and direction sensors, as well as of Once the confidence has been firmly established, the
the thermoregulation by change in temperature, appraisal costs can be reduced. Eventually, even the
flux, and medium consistency. prevention costs can be decreased in absolute terms,
– The efficient thermoregulation by temperature although prevention remains a significant cost in
control of heating/cooling media and by time relative terms. Initially, the total quality costs may
activation/deactivation, to optimize the heat bal- rise because the investment in some aspects of
ance of the die during the production or in warm- prevention, such as training, is increased. However,
up phase. a reduction in total costs will quickly follow.
Process data could be organized thanks to a Sta-
Making the Process Setup/Optimization a tistical Process Control and Control Charts,1 which
Knowledge-Based Issue can be performed to determine whether the process
is performed as it should or whether it is going out
The HPDC process appears as a fully automated of control. An equally important issue to consider is
process, promising repeatability, high production whether the variation in the process performance is
rate and automation in any phase of the manufac- acceptable to the external customers. This strongly
turing cell. Practically, the control of the process is depends on the acceptable range (also called
attributed to a single mechanism with active syn- specification range) of performance that is tolerated
chronization, but any interaction with the product by the customers.
quality and equipment performance is excluded.
The consequence is that the process setup and its
Multidisciplinary R&D Activities
cost optimization are essentially based on the skills
and competences of few persons. This means that Several disciplines and competences are needed to
the knowledge of the HPDC technology is more a run the entire HPDC design and manufacturing
 Author's personal copy
High-Pressure Die-Casting: Contradictions and Challenges 907

Table III. Number of nonferrous foundries in Europe (Al alloy foundries are 80% of them)12

Year Italy Germany France Spain U.K. EU

2011 914 344 311 53 210 2,600
2012 916 340 307 52 208 2,500

Fig. 6. Weight saving and market penetration for Al alloys in the automotive applications.21

Table IV. Production of Al alloy castings in European countries (values in tons)

Country 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Italy 912.000 820.000 550.000 730.000 833.000 717.000
Germany 882.000 802.000 560.000 812.000 859.000 819.000
France NA 275.000 206.000 287.000 327.000 325.000
Spain 125.000 110.000 81.000 100.000 113.000 112.000
U.K. NA 114.000 80.000 98.000 115.000 105.000
About 60% of the production is obtained by HPDC.12

chain: metallurgy, machine design, automation, nu- SMEs, are very limited due to their structure, which
merical simulation, heat transfer, furnace and die intrinsically stops the multidisciplinary innovation
design and construction, and many others.20 Howev- that is the key factor for survival.
er, the approach to HPDC is actually monodisci- Methods and tools for the integration of different
plinary: (I) Dies are designed and built for productivity technologies, disciplines, and competences are
but not interfaced with the control systems, (II) lu- strongly needed to lead the HPDC manufacturing
brication is carried out for die safety and cycle time sector toward a more knowledge-based and inter-
without considering the metallurgical quality, and active approach, and to the optimal use of personal
(III) high productivity is always targeted but a real and company resources. To have a complete quality
cost analysis is never carried out. The level of inter- management of the HPDC process and products,
action among the different disciplines is still poor and only an integrated use of each personal skill and
limited; each of them is certainly introducing relevant expertise will assure the development of a ‘‘new
innovations, which in most cases are not integrated or generation’’ of HPDC foundries.
fully separated. The impact of a specific innovation on
productivity and costs are experimented directly Impacting on HPDC Foundries’ Scenario
in-field, with higher costs and no consistent back-
The relevant facts about the situation of EU
ground. Although innovation is strongly needed by the
HPDC foundries are as follows:12
HPDC foundries, they have not enough scientific,
technological, and organizational background to – There are more than 2.000 light alloys foundries
develop and apply it. These foundries, generally in Europe (Table III).
 Author's personal copy
908 Bonollo, Gramegna, and Timelli

– They are basically SMEs, with an average num- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ber of employees around 50, but most of them has
This work was developed within the European
<20.
Project MUSIC (Multi-layers Control and Cognitive
– The end users of diecast products are the trans-
System to drive metal and plastic production line for
port industry (60%), mechanics (7%), electrome-
Injected Components, FP7-FoF-ICT-2011.7.1, Con-
chanics (9%), and civil engineering (20%), with a
tract No. 314145). This article is the result of a
growing trend in automotive and transport
survey carried out by the authors with key persons
(Fig. 5), supported by the reduction achievable in HPDC fields, who are gratefully acknowledged:
in fuel consumption and emission (Fig. 6).21
Jeorg and Uwe Gauermann (Electronics GmbH),
– The production, due to the well-known effects of
Lothar Kallien (GTA, Aalen University), Marc
crisis, has been strongly reduced in 2008 and Schnenider (MAGMA GmbH), Lars Arnberg
2009, with a partial recovery in 2010 (Table IV).
(NTNU, Trongheim University), Aitor Alzaga
– Almost 30% of die-casting machines have been
(Tekniker), and Luca Baraldi and Flavio Cecchetto
installed in foundries more than 25 years ago;
(MOTUL-Baraldi).
thus, they are close to obsolescence.
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