World's largest aluminium die-casting machine Revolution in automobile manufacturing via Giga-casting?

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Engineer Richard Oberle has revolutionized aluminum die casting with his groundbreaking invention, the Giga Press—the world's largest aluminum die-casting machine. Now, he and his colleague Fiorenzo Dioni have earned a nomination for the prestigious European Inventor Award.

When discussing Giga-Casting, Tesla's Model Y often comes to mind. Unlike traditional methods where the rear frame comprises multiple individual parts, Giga-Casting enables it to be cast as a single, solid piece using aluminum die casting. "We see a big future in Giga-Casting because you can really join parts together that have a unique connection, without screws or rivets or welding. It's all made from one piece," says Richard Oberle, engineer at the Italian die casting machine manufacturer Idra.

The development journey began in 1974

For the 85 year old Lower Franconian, the development of Giga-Casting is a life's work—together with his Idra colleague Fiorenzo Dione, technical director, Oberle has developed the Giga-Press. This die-casting machine operates with particularly high pressures and has the potential to revolutionise the automotive industry. With this development, the two men are now nominated for this year's European Inventor Award, in the category "Industry". They are in the round of the last three, out of a total of 550 nominees from 75 countries. The prize will be awarded on 9 July 2024 in Malta.

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The development journey began already in 1974: At that time, Oberle left his home in Lower Franconia to develop components for the automotive industry in Italy for the die-casting machine manufacturer Idra. Even then, there were frequent failures of the die-casting machines during parts production. "At that time, I was supposed to investigate on a machine why pressure surges occurred with every pressing process. The faster the machines became, the stronger the pressure surges. So I was confronted with something I had never experienced before," Oberle recalls. At that time, the knowledge and the necessary measuring technology to get to the bottom of this problem were still lacking. When he left Idra again in 1979, the problem was still there.

The hydraulics on the die casting machine are most stressed

Only in 2008, as an employee at the company Parker, Oberle had advised many customers throughout Europe, including Idra. "And there I repeatedly heard that there were problems with the hydraulics. We at Parker had delivered a component that controlled the pressing cylinder, and it was regularly broken, it was literally torn apart," he recalls. Oberle realized: The hydraulics on the die-casting machine are the most stressed, especially on the pressing piston. Why? "If you, for example, drive a car into a wall at 100 km/h, the car is destroyed. The same happens with the pressing piston on the die-casting machine," Oberle compares. In the die-casting process, the metal has to be pressed into the mold very quickly through a fill bush. "And when the mold is filled, this piston suddenly stops," Oberle describes the problem. Since the hydraulic fluid has to be ejected to the tank during the pressing movement, the oil column continues to run. However, if the piston suddenly stops, nothing comes out anymore. There is a cavity in the oil column: the result is pressure peaks. "The manufacturers partly accept having to change such a valve every few weeks, but this also affects the quality of the cast part," explains the engineer.

The solution: A hydraulic cushion

To solve this problem, Oberle and his Idra colleague Fiorenzo Dione developed the 5S injection system. Here, no oil is pushed to the tank, so it cannot run away. "In our system, the oil is pushed into a hydraulic cushion during the pressing process, which we have specially developed for this," Oberle describes the system. The special thing: This pressure cushion stops the moment no more oil flows. "But the rod space in the pressing piston remains constant at 50 bar, there is no cavitation, the oil stays clean. Due to the counter-holding of the cushion, there is also no longer a hard impact of the pressing piston, you can hardly hear it anymore. You can hear how healthy this movement is for the hydraulic system," Oberle proudly tells.

The biggest hurdle in his invention was to place it with the machine manufacturers. "They did not welcome me with open arms, they found it interesting, but they said the problem was not that big after all," he recalls. However, he was able to convince with an order at VW: "Here I was able to convert a series of machines to my system and thus solve the problem immediately," says the engineer.

The first automaker to put the Giga-Press into operation was Tesla in its Giga-Factory in Grünheide, Brandenburg, Germany. "Mega-casting means a huge investment for the traditional automakers," emphasizes Oberle. New halls would have to be built for the gigantic machines, which have dimensions similar to a residential building. "And the employees would also have to be involved," says Oberle. He already notices this with his invention of the 5S injection unit, as the machine must be operated differently here. It will still take a considerable amount of time before Giga-Casting has arrived in the production halls of German automakers.

This article was first published on our sister brand 'KonstruktionsPraxis' (German Edition), Vogel Communications Group