High-performance materials and heat treatment technology empower automotive die cast mould and promote the lightweight revolution of new energy vehicles

In recent years, as the global automotive industry accelerates its transformation to new energy vehicles, lightweighting has become a key strategy to improve endurance and reduce energy consumption. In order to meet the large-scale mass production needs of integrated aluminum alloy structural parts, automotive die cast mould technology has ushered in unprecedented challenges and opportunities. Especially driven by the coordinated optimization of high-performance mold materials and advanced heat treatment technologies, the strength, durability and manufacturing precision of automotive die-casting molds have been significantly improved, becoming the core guarantee for lightweight manufacturing of new energy vehicles.

Lightweight demand has spawned a desire for high strength of automotive die cast mould

New energy vehicles are generally driven by battery packs, which have a huge weight and have a significant impact on the endurance of the entire vehicle. Lightweight materials represented by aluminum alloys have become the mainstream solution through integrated molding of automotive die cast mould technology, significantly reducing the number of parts and reducing assembly complexity.

However, this also means that the mold needs to withstand extremely high clamping force and thermal stress, and traditional mold materials and processes face severe tests. Large-size, high-precision molds must have excellent thermal fatigue resistance and mechanical strength to ensure the stability and efficiency of die-casting production.

High-performance mold materials drive mold technology upgrades

To meet this demand, mold manufacturers are accelerating the development of new high-alloy hot-working steels to improve the red hardness and thermal fatigue resistance of materials. The use of high-performance materials such as H13 improved steel and powder metallurgy mold steel can significantly improve the overall strength and toughness of automotive die cast mould.

At the same time, by improving the alloy composition and purification process, the mold material structure is more dense and uniform, reducing the source of microcracks and greatly extending the mold life. These high-performance materials achieve the best balance of hardness, toughness and wear resistance with heat treatment.

Synergistic optimization of heat treatment technology to ensure the ultimate performance of mold performance

The performance of material performance is inseparable from scientific and reasonable heat treatment processes. Advanced heat treatment technologies, such as vacuum quenching, isothermal quenching, multiple tempering and deep cryogenic treatment, can reduce residual stress and improve hardness and thermal stability by regulating the internal organizational structure of the mold.

In particular, local heat treatment and surface strengthening technologies for key stress-bearing parts in automotive die cast mould, such as nitriding treatment and PVD coating, greatly enhance the wear resistance and corrosion resistance of the mould, and reduce the problems of aluminum liquid sticking to the mould and erosion.

Through the coordinated optimization of materials and heat treatment, not only the service life of the mould is improved, but also the stability of product size and processing accuracy are guaranteed, laying the foundation for the mass production of new energy vehicle structural parts.

Case: High-performance automotive die cast mould achieves a qualitative leap

A leading domestic automotive parts manufacturer uses high-purity powder metallurgy steel materials for die-casting moulds for new energy vehicle battery trays, combined with multi-stage vacuum heat treatment processes, to achieve a mould life increase from 50,000 moulds to 90,000 moulds, a 30% increase in production efficiency, and stable die-casting quality.

This case fully verifies the great value of collaborative innovation of high-performance mould materials and heat treatment technology, and has also become an industry benchmark.

The rise of domestic mould materials promotes the independent control of the industrial chain

For a long time, domestic automotive die-casting mould materials have relied on imports, and technical bottlenecks have restricted the development of the industry. With the rapid expansion of the new energy vehicle industry chain, domestic high-performance hot-working steel and supporting heat treatment technology have gradually matured, breaking the foreign monopoly.

Many domestic special steel companies have worked closely with mold manufacturers to develop high-strength mold steel materials suitable for large automotive die cast moulds, meet the durability requirements under high temperature and high pressure environments, and promote mold manufacturing to upgrade to high quality and high added value.

Future Outlook: Collaborative Innovation Leads a New Era of Automotive Die Cast Mould Technology

With the continuous expansion of the new energy vehicle market and the increasing complexity of manufacturing processes, the technological innovation of automotive die cast mould will pay more attention to the system integration optimization of materials and heat treatment.

By introducing digital design and intelligent manufacturing methods, combined with new materials and advanced heat treatment technologies, future die-casting molds will achieve higher strength, longer life and better production efficiency.

All this will not only inject strong momentum into the lightweight development of new energy vehicles, but will also drive the entire automotive manufacturing industry chain towards a new era of green, efficient and intelligent.