Aspects for the optimization of car production regarding efficiency, availability and sustainability

Nowadays, more than in the recent decades, the design process for the body in white for passenger cars is driven by efficiency. This results in the enhanced usage of large-scale cast components made of aluminum for the battery compartment, the front or rear body and other components. While automotive industry is striving towards even larger structures made with so-called “Giga Casting” challenges in the casting and supply chain processes but also maintenance and repair processes of these large structures arise. Other tasks to solve might follow from controlling local microstructures and thus strength of the parts when flow length of the molten metal increase with component size especially in relation to an increased fraction of recycling aluminum. Within the Fraunhofer-internal project “FutureCarProduction” the emphasis is directed towards understanding what drives efficiency, availability and sustainability of modern processes for the production of a body in white. Moreover, the project addresses questions along the complete product chain in terms of optimization of casting, joining and quality assurance processes and seeks to give solutions for the efficiency and quality of different manufacturing processes by applying performance indices. In the present paper, an overview on the project scope itself and the recent findings of “FutureCarProduction” are presented with a focus on the influences of higher fractions of secondary / recycled aluminum on the casting process, the occurring microstructure and defect situation in body in white components. This forms the basis for further investigations on the performance of different manufacturing and design opportunities for automotive components.