In an effort to increase automobile
efficiencies by reducing vehicle weight,
automotive engineers are using casting
design and process advantages to
convert designs to aluminum.
Alfred T. Spada
R educed weight and cost. This is a magical phrase to design
engineers as long as it is followed by “and still achieves the
required mechanical and physical properties.”
The trend toward lightweight aluminum components contin-
ues to grow each day. Whether it is the corporate average fuel
economy (CAFÉ) standards in the automotive industry or just an
OEM’s drive to improve product performance by increasing effi-
ciency through weight reduction, manufacturers are searching out
opportunities to replace stampings, weldments, fabrications and
castings with cast aluminum components.
At the forefront of this trend is the automotive industry. Pushed
by the CAFÉ standards, automobile manufacturers are achieving
weight reductions in every system of the vehicle—from the en-
gine and powertrain to the suspension. The target for the U.S.
automotive industry and its Big Three—General Motors, Ford
and DaimlerChrysler—is an efficiency level of 80 miles/gal for
midsize vehicles, according to the Design and Product Optimiza-
tion for Cast Light Metals study from the U.S. Dept. of Energy and
the American Foundry Society. To achieve this goal, mass in the
chassis, body and interior subsystems of automobiles must be re-
duced by 50% without a detrimental effect to vehicle safety, com-
fort, ride, performance or, most importantly, cost.
According to Stratecasts, Inc., Ft. Myers, Florida, aluminum
casting shipments for automobiles and light trucks are expected
Cast Component: Brake rotor for the Chrysler Prowler
automobile cast by Eck Industries, Inc.
Casting Process: Semi-permanent mold casting.
Converted From: Traditional design in iron.
• The brake rotor was converted to a 359/SiC/20p aluminum
metal matrix composite (MMC) alloy casting at a 50% weight
reduction and without a loss in performance.
• In terms of mechanical properties, the aluminum MMC brake
rotor’s modulus and its wear rate in application are the same
as cast iron.
For more information, circle 051 on last page.
28 ENGINEERED CASTING SOLUTIONS
Daimler-
C h r y s l e r ’s
Prowler is a show-
case for aluminum, in-
cluding the cast brake
rotors that provide a
50% weight reduction.
to increase from 1.07
million tons in 2001 to 1.65 mil-
lion tons in 2011, an increase of 4.4% per year. This translates to
an increase from 185 lb of aluminum castings per automobile
and light truck in 2001 to 270 lb/car by 2011. The forecast states
that close to half of these aluminum castings will be produced as
die castings (67% are diecast now), with the remaining compo-
nents produced via the permanent mold, lost foam and sand cast-
ing processes. Tables 1 and 2 highlight the forecast for aluminum
casting use in automobiles and light trucks.
While some of this conversion to cast aluminum is occurring
in lower stress areas of the automobile, such as the transmission,
the focus for the future is the highly-stressed, safety-critical ap-
plications such as the brake and suspension systems.
Within the last decade, automotive engineers and casting sup-
pliers have begun partnerships to develop aluminum castings with
the necessary properties and consistency to succeed in safety-criti-
cal applications. This success has been due to design engineers’
increased understanding of how to design castings for these ap-
plications as well as suppliers’ improved manufacturing processes
and technology to ensure quality at high production levels.
Opening Aluminum’s Door
The conversion to aluminum in automobiles is driven by
Cast Component: Steering column upper bearing assembly for
Mitsubishi cast by Intermet Corp.
Casting Process: Diecasting.
Converted From: Steel weldment.
• Previously a steel weldment, this aluminum component was con-
verted to an aluminum diecasting at a cost and weight savings.
• A steel tube is cast-in to improve strength. The diecasting pro-
cess also provides a near-net-shape that was previously
unachievable.
For more information, circle 052 on last page.
SPRING 2002
the goal of increased fuel and engine and drive train
efficiency due to reduced weight, improved aerodynam-
ics and reduced cost (as a lighter overall vehicle tends
to have a lower total cost).
The success of conversions to aluminum for automo-
biles first began with intake manifolds in the late 1970s
and early 1980s, said Thomas Prucha, Intermet Corp.’s di-
rector of process research and development and chairman
of the American Foundry Society research board. Cast in
either 319 or 356 alloy, aluminum intakes delivered the
necessary strength at the same wall thickness as their iron
predecessors. Before 1980, almost all intake manifolds were
gray iron. By the mid-1980s, nearly all gas engine intake
manifolds were cast aluminum. Today, only 40% of all au-
tomobile intake manifolds are cast aluminum as plastic
has begun to take away market share.
According to Prucha, the trend in safety-critical appli-
cation conversions to aluminum began with the road wheel
in the mid-1980s. Pushed by aesthetics, cast aluminum road
wheels (356 alloy) were replacing fabricated steel rims. “The
aluminum is able to withstand the stress because the com-
ponent is dynamically loaded,” said Prucha. Today, 63% of
all automobile and light truck wheels are cast aluminum.
Another strong push to aluminum at that time and still
continuing today is occurring with engine cylinder heads
and blocks. By redesigning the heads and blocks for alu-
minum (with iron cylinder liners for blocks and powder
metal valve seats and valve stem guides for the heads) and
incorporating numerous cast-in features such as oil pas-
sages and return lines, automotive OEMs and their cast-
ing suppliers have made these foundation components for
engines cost-effective for total automobile cost.
“Although aluminum is a more expensive material, the
50% weight reduction we are able to achieve in blocks and
heads coupled with the numerous cast-in features makes the
total system cost a push when compared to their iron prede-
cessors,” said Stephen Pruss, manager-engineering group at
General Motors Warren Powertrain Engineering Center.
Today, 40% of blocks and 90% of heads are cast alumi-
num. It is forecast that in 2006 60% of blocks and 96% of
heads will be aluminum.
But the conversion trend that has today’s automotive en-
gineers and aluminum foundries most intrigued is in safety-
critical applications such as steering knuckles, crossmembers
and brake rotors. According to Paul Bujalski, supervisor-cast
metals engineering & prototyping, chassis & powertrain
materials engineering, DaimlerChrysler Corp., “This is the
area of opportunity for automotive manufacturers.”
Strength, Stiffness & Packaging
The ability of design engineers to replace iron and steel
components with aluminum is based on three material
properties—strength (ultimate tensile and yield, as well as
elongation), stiffness (modulus of elasticity) and fatigue
life—and one application property—packaging.
When considering the conversion of a component to
aluminum for an automobile or some other end product,
Prucha identified four primary areas of concerns. Design
engineers should:
1. Determine what the goal is in the redesign. Is it to reduce
weight? Is it to reduce noise/vibration? Is it to reduce cost? A
function of this goal is to establish an economic analysis for
the component. This analysis must include factors that af-
fect casting cost—including alloy, tolerances, surface finish,
testing and inspection, machining and heat treatment.
SPRING 2002
Cast Component: Inline 6 cylinder block and head for General Motor’s
Vortec 4200 sport utility engine cast by GM
Powertrain’s Saginaw Metal Casting Operation.
Casting Process: Lost foam.
Converted From: Iron in the early to mid 1990s.
• Engine was designed with lost foam cast block and head in mind to
achieve “top-in-class” performance for horsepower, fuel efficiency, peak
torque and mass efficiency.
• Lost foam allowed the designers to cast various features into the cylin-
der block and head, including:
• integrated crankcase ventilation system oil/air separator (eliminat-
ing an additional bolt-on);
• oil galleries (significantly reducing machining effort and cost);
• intricate water jacket design (eliminating oil cooler costs and the
potential for leaks), allowing maximum cooling efficiency;
• intricate convoluted oil drain-backs that provide structural stiffness
to lower noise and vibration as well as provide large, functional oil
drain returns to the oil sump;
• coolant passages (which traditionally require drilling or external
plumbing) cast directly into the block, resulting in less machining
and fewer opportunities for assembly error.
For more information, circle 053 on last page.
Cast Component: Fuel rail housing for four-cylinder, 2.0 and 2.2-L pas-
senger car models cast by Madison-Kipp Corp.
Casting Process: Semi-solid casting.
Converted From: Traditionally designed as fabricated steel tube.
• An engine configuration required a fuel rail housing capable of withstand-
ing high levels of impact without failure. The customer decided that tra-
ditional fabricated brazed steel tube and plastic designs would not meet
the stringent impact requirements and opted for a cast component.
• The customer, first-tier supplier, and casting and machining component
supplier worked together to develop an aluminum casting that met the
7000-lb crash test load and elongation requirements while keeping over-
all mass and costs to a minimum.
• Increased dimensional accuracy of critical features (especially injector
positioning) produced close tolerance machining for special features
and resulted in leak-free performance without impregnation (this was
aided by semi-solid casting’s inherent low porosity characteristic).
For more information, circle 054 on last page.
ENGINEERED CASTING SOLUTIONS 29

Cast Component: Rear subframe for Volvo cast by Alcoa’s Scandanavian
Center.
Casting Process: VRC/PRC.
Converted From: Steel stamping.
• Cast in A356 aluminum this component achieves property minimums of
138 MPa tensile strength, 75 MPa yield strength and 12% elongation.
• The design as a casting resulted in close to a 40% weight savings with a
machined component weight of 17.2 kg.
For more information, circle 055 on last page.
Cast Component: Differential carrier for DaimlerChrysler’s Jeep Grand
Cherokee cast by Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc.
Casting Process: Tilt-pour permanent mold casting.
Converted From: Iron.
• Cast in A356 aluminum, the component achieves minimum mechani-
cal properties of 228 MPa tensile strength, 179 MPa yield strength and
4% elongation.
• The conversion to aluminum resulted in a 40% weight reduction with
a machined component weight of 7.3 kg.
For more information, circle 056 on last page.
Cast Component: A brake pedal for the
C7 Corvette cast by Eck
Industries, Inc.
Casting Process: Low-pressure perma-
nent mold casting.
Converted From: Steel fabrication.
• Converted from a steel fabrication, this
structural, safety-critical B356 aluminum cast-
ing achieves 0.5 in. deflection before fracture,
ASTM E-155 Frame 2 requirements for shrink-
age in critical areas, and exceptional appearance
and feature definition, which is mandatory be-
cause the pedal face is visible.
• To solve structural and mechanical property concerns, modified alloy
chemistries and heat treatment cycles were used with permanent mold
casting to achieve the mechanical properties of 35 ksi tensile strength,
25 ksi yield strength and 7% elongation.
For more information, circle 057 on last page.
30 ENGINEERED CASTING SOLUTIONS
2. Determine the various tensile, compression and torsion
load factors (via finite element analysis) that are and will af-
fect the component in service with the current design and the
redesign. For example, all chassis components are analyzed
for maximum stress through the evaluation of more than 20
standard suspension and powertrain load cases.
3. Determine what the packaging restrictions (size, weight,
etc.) and operating environment are for the component. They
will dictate design criteria. Packaging constraints will pro-
vide the designer with necessary spatial parameters to honor
in the initial design as well as down the road during design
iterations. Operating environment helps determine the cast-
ing material and processing requirements. For example, fa-
tigue life can be influenced if the cast component is located
near the ground line and subject to stone or chip contact,
salt and/or silt. These can cause stress concentration sites
affecting casting performance.
4. Evaluate component machining and assembly issues.
It is critical to incorporate those considerations into the
overall design to ensure that the “total cost” of manufac-
turing is factored into a conversion.
Once these points are outlined, redesigning to alumi-
num can begin.
If an iron or steel component design were translated
directly to aluminum, the design would achieve a 67%
weight reduction (aluminum has 33% the density of steel,
but a higher strength-to-weight ratio). However, a straight
material substitution isn’t possible because of aluminum’s
reduced strength, stiffness and resistance to stress.
The modulus of elasticity for steel, ductile iron, gray
iron and aluminum are 30 x 106 lbf/sq in., 24 x 106 lbf/sq
in., 13 x 106 lbf/sq in. and 10 x 106 lbf/sq in., respectively. To
overcome this material disadvantage, the goal in redesign-
ing to aluminum is to optimize casting geometry so stress
is reduced in the critical areas and distributed broadly
through less critical areas to more uniformly apply it
throughout the cast component.
Stress is a function of loads applied and geometry of struc-
ture—geometry alone controls the amount of stress for a
given system of forces on a structure and material choice
controls how much stress is allowable. Castings have an in-
herent advantage over fabricated weldments because they
can apply stress more uniformly throughout the structure
(and not have stress concentration factors at weld joints, for
example). This reduces the stress concentrated at any one
point throughout the part and minimizes the chance to ex-
tend beyond the allowable stress (modulus) and fatigue life
exerted on any one particular area of the component.
“The key is to design the component with both stiff-
ness and geometry in mind to achieve the required prop-
erties,” said Bujalski.
To further offset the allowable stress in any one section
of an aluminum cast component, section sizes also can be
Table 1. Forecast of Automobiles and Light Trucks Using Cast
Aluminum for the Listed Component
Component 2002 2006
Engine Block 40% 60%
Cylinder Head 90% 96%
Intake Manifold 40% 28%
Transmission Case 95% 94%
Wheels 63% 75%
Pistons 95% 94%
Brake, Suspension 15% 25%
Stratecasts, Inc., Ft. Myers, Florida
SPRING 2002
Table 2. Forecast of Cast Aluminum Use By Component in 2008
Component % Using Cast
Aluminum By 2008
Rocker Arm Cover 25
Rocker Arm 30
Master Cylinder 60
Disc Brake Calipers 8
Disc Brake Rotors 8
Water Pump and Oil Pump Housings 50
Steering Knuckle 10
Suspension Control Arms 10
Differential Carrier Cover 10
Accelerator Pedal 10
Wheel Brake Cylinder Body 30
Stratecasts Inc., Ft. Myers, Florida

increased in the redesign. The key to these design alter-

ations is the packaging restraints for the overall system. Cast Component: Crossmember used on the rear suspension for the
“The section sizes must be controlled,” said Bujalski. Pontiac Aztek and Buick Rendezvous sport utility
“In some cases, that can reach double the thickness of the vehicles cast by Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc.
previous design.” Casting Process: Permanent mold casting.
This is when the casting designer, foundry engineers Converted From: Stamped steel/welded assemblies.
and overall product engineers must communicate the re-
strictions on the design and manufacturing to ensure the • Traditionally manufactured as stamped steel/welded assemblies, this
final component design is satisfactory. new 49-lb, A356 aluminum component design improved total product
According to Prucha, “Once all the issues have been re- functionality by providing mounts for various other suspension/brake-
solved and a design is finalized, the typical expected weight related components that were not available in the previous design.
reduction from a conversion to aluminum can reach 40%.” • New casting design provided better tolerance controls, reduced
weight, integrated features, improved ride and handling, and re-
Manufacturing Technology duced NVH/noise.
The ability for design engineers to redesign iron and For more information, circle 058 on last page.
steel to aluminum goes beyond design principles. This
ability also is based in manufacturing growth by the
foundry industry.
“By improving its technology and processes, the alu-
minum foundry industry now can provide the repeatable
quality that was limited 15 years ago,” said Bujalski.
Bujalski cited vacuum and pressure casting processes
(including permanent mold and semi-solid/squeeze cast-
ing) and automated inspection and non-destructive test-
ing techniques as critical to certifying high-production
component quality.
According to Prucha, “We also are able to better con-
trol the metal’s microstructure through a variety of means
for increased mechanical properties.”
The key for the automotive OEMs, however, is consis-
tent quality. “Internal soundness of components and the
Cast Component: Steering knuckle cast by Intermet Corp.
related defect issues such as microporosity are less of a
Casting Process: Pressure counter pressure casting (PCPC).
concern today,” said Bujalski. “Foundries have automated
Converted From: Iron component.
inspection and other process control techniques that as-
sure us of component quality.” • Traditionally cast in iron, this 6.5-lb, 12 x 6 x 5.5-in. A356 aluminum
As for the future, both automotive design engineers and steering knuckle was designed by the foundry for its unique, self-devel-
foundries see the continued drive toward aluminum in both oped PCPC process. This process is similar to low-pressure permanent
the powertrain and chassis systems of automobiles. mold casting, but uses countering pressures in the furnace and casting
For a free copy of this article circle No. 341 on the Reader Action Card. chamber to control mold filling and maximize feeding in shrinkage-
prone regions of the casting along with sequenced cooling of the mold
For More Information to ensure directional solidification.
Design and Product Optimization for Cast Light Met- • The casting process offers increased structural integrity due to porosity
als, a study performed under the U.S. Automotive Materi- reduction, controlled solidification and higher strength and ductility
als Partnership, a unit of the U.S. Council for Automotive than other metal die casting processes.
Research, available from the American Foundry Society, • The benefits derived from this process made aluminum an attractive
Des Planes, IL (2001).
choice for this safety-critical component.
Design Considerations for Automotive Castings, Pro- • The aluminum casting provides approximately 40% weight savings over
ceedings # SP-1684 from the 2002 Society of Automotive
Engineers World Congress, Dearborn, Michigan.
the traditional iron version.
For more information, circle 059 on last page.

SPRING 2002 ENGINEERED CASTING SOLUTIONS 31