Part Buyers Authority Issue #2

As the number of automobiles increases, manufacturers of aluminum parts will be called upon to make more complex high-tech lightweight parts to increase safety and last longer. For this industry, aluminum builds better vehicles. The importance of aluminum in commercial vehicles and cars is increasing due to the many industry advantages. While most people emphasize the lightweight benefits for increasing fuel economy and reducing emissions, we like to also point out that castings made from aluminum can be amazingly complex while also being cost- effective, strong and very durable. Look for more aluminum in each vehicle in the future, including the structure. Cast aluminum alloys are suited for a variety of parts with complex shapes and high performance expectations. Product applications include powertrain automotive applications such as turbo components, oil filter adapters, intake manifolds, exhaust gas Recirculators (EGR Housing), and cylinder heads. Aluminum castings are also used in a wide array of industrial applications such as pump, bulk transfer valves, fueling components, blower housings and impellers. Given the complex nature of any given vehicle, there are more than a number of very complex castings that go into any car. Complex castings often perform more than one function and have evolved with newer designs to reduce the number of components and weight. There are many foundries in the USA producing aluminum castings for the transportation market. And, there are many different kinds of aluminum castings in any given vehicle, truck or piece of industrial equipment. If all parts were created equally – this would not be a problem. But they are hardly the same. Parts in vehicles and trucks range from complex cylinder heads with air and coolant passages in the same part, oil filter adapters (gasoline and diesel), turbo housings, intake manifolds with integrated coolant passages, brackets, and more. Consider complex leak tight parts to be in a class by themselves. Every engineer or part buyer faces the decision of qualifying a foundry for both prototypes and production of complex high- tech castings. Therefore, how do you qualify a foundry for your part with the understanding that people’s lives rely on the safety of the parts put into any vehicle? We think the first step is to understand that casting complexity is always evolving. It is fairly common for multiple parts to be redesigned into one complex casting. Therefore, having the proper resources to design and build larger, more complex high quality parts is one thing. Having the specific automotive engineering skills to be able to assist with your part’s evolution, is quite another thing. Some parts will change dramatically over time, whereas others will go through mild design changes. But one thing is for sure, parts will be changing – from several components to one part, from thick walled to thin, from handling multiple internal passages, etc. Evaluating an Aluminum Foundry for your part requires an understanding of the casting process to fully understand DAVID SEILKOP President EPCOR FOUNDRY, Division of Seilkop Industries, Inc. Complex High-Performance Aluminum Castings for the Automotive Industry 6 PART BUYERS A U T H R I T Y