Alcoa Corporation introduced a new high-strength, 6000 series alloy, A210 ExtruStrong, that delivers benefits across a wide range of extruded applications, including transport, construction, industrial, and consumer goods.
Alcoa also announced today that its C611 EZCast alloy, a high-performance alloy that does not require a dedicated heat treatment, is being recognized this week with an international award at the 2022 International Die Casting Competition in Lexington, hosted by the North American Die Casting Association.
The alloy has won top recognition for excellence in structural die casting due to its application in megacasting, where large components of a vehicle are high pressure diecast as one piece, cutting manufacturing costs and enabling more efficiency.
A210 ExtruStrong.: First introduced as part of crash protection components, the A210 ExtruStrong alloy is more than 40% stronger than competitive alloys, while also featuring lighter weight and reduced thickness.
It delivers best-in-class corrosion and aging performance, particularly for thin-wall structures. Extruded profiles created with A210 ExtruStrong can be thinner than other competing 6000 and some 7000 series alloys. Tensile and yield strength are improved, including the percentage of elongation. Furthermore, anodizing results are also improved, and it provides a nearly 30% gain in fatigue resistance versus its competitors.
Beyond automotive applications, other uses include highly demanding structural applications in the construction industry, including new bridges, and for various lightweight and strong products, such as bicycles.
C611 EZCast. C611 EZCast is a proven alloy that can be used in large die casting machines; it is particularly well suited for megacastings in automotive applications.
Electric vehicle manufacturer NIO is the latest to qualify the alloy successfully for megacasting for vehicles. NIO, which has experts around the world supporting its line of all-electric vehicles, converted to the C611 EZCast alloy after extensive testing showed positive benefits, which include gains in productivity and efficiency while ensuring reliability and safety.
The C611 EZCast alloy has been used to create, among other parts, front and rear longitudinal beams and floor frames.
The alloy also does not require any dedicated heat treatment, achieving final properties simply from the normal paint-baking process that is part of every automotive manufacturer’s assembly line process. Eliminating the need for dedicated heat treatment, saves energy, lowers carbon dioxide emissions, and reduces the complexity in a vehicle’s manufacturing process.
Alcoa has licensed to CSMet New Material Group Co, based in Shanghai, the exclusive right to produce and sell Alcoa’s C611 EZCast alloy in China. CSMet is developing the megacasting application and supplying the alloy to NIO and other top-tier Chinese automotive OEMs. Through its partnership with CSMet, Alcoa’s alloy was qualified for NIO’s megacasting components, including a rear floor design that is 20% lighter than a previous design that used numerous parts.
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Cool, so we could expect lighter car and truck bodies.
I presume the C611 EZcast can be used by Giga casters like the ones used by Tesla.
( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giga_Press )
or ones like it.
It would also be interesting to use ultra light bodies with ICE and hybrid cars – why should it be only used by EVs?
Question: could you fit an ICE (and all its gear) into an EV shell (or how much modification would it take ?)
[ We have seen that adding EV gubbins to an ICE vehicle does not work so well, you need a new chassis design as the parts have very different bodies and shapes, but what if you planned to go both ways ?}
Posted by: mahonj | 14 September 2022 at 01:15 AM
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