Fagor Ederlan and TECNALIA join efforts to manufacture lightweight aluminium blocks

TECNALIA, together with Fagor Ederlan, has started to manufacture aluminium engine-blocks by developing HPDC-LC technology. The end user is Renault and it is applied to manufacturing and marketing lighter engines that comply with future Euro 7 regulations.

Fagor Ederlan produces aluminium engine-blocks, which used to be made of iron, with the aim of industrialising them. The company has taken on this challenge together with TECNALIA as part of the European project Core 4.0 within the Horizon 2020 programme. The end user and validator is Renault, although there are other companies in the consortium, like Rauschert and FerroČrtalič.

Both the project and the consortium were extended another 12 months to give the French manufacturer time to complete the validation tests for the products created on their test bench. High Pressure Die Casting Lost-Core (HPDC-LC) technology has been developed. This casting process is highly productive and produces high quality parts to manufacture aluminium engine-blocks.

Thanks to their configuration, these blocks can be integrated into engines with high-combustion pressures and also reduce their weight by 37.7 kg, that is, 3% of the average total weight of a vehicle. Their CO₂ emissions can also be cut by over 500 kg throughout the life of the car.

HPDC technology

HPDC technology has been used for some time now in aluminium and magnesium casting: it is a flexible process with high productivity and high quality surfaces, but it is not suitable for certain parts.

The French manufacturer is validating the product because of its complex shapes, which led us to develop the HPDC-LC technology. We have designed ceramic cores attached to refractory coating in order to ensure good performance during the injection process. The cleaning process of these cores, which is carried out with an equipment created by Slovenian company FerroČrtalič, is very slow, which means that industrialisation is difficult and they are not suitable for serial production.

Work Lines

Renault is validating the blocks that have already been manufactured in Paris, and the results will be ready in April and May this year.

At the same time, the French assembler and Fagor Ederlan are redesigning the block's cooling jacket, in order to create a simpler shape, conceptually validate the process and achieve its industrialisation.