Partners

The project consortium comprises 7 partners from 4 European countries, 3 of which are SME and 3 are RTD.

 

SMEs

VDS VDS  (Switzerland)  manufactures  highly  innovative  vacuum  valves  and  supplies  complete  vacuum equipments to the HPDC industry, its participation and technological advice guarantees the success  of the project.
Ruffini RUFFINI (Spain) is an Aluminium Die Casting company with more than 50 years of experience supplying to the automotive industry, household appliance sector and other areas where there is demand. The philosophy of the company is to provide their customers response to their high technical requirements. To deliver parts with the best quality RUFFINI has always been researching and investing in new technologies. By joining the Soundcast project RUFFINI expects to develop new cooperation relationships with the other project partners, as well as in increase their Know-How and take advantage in quality and manufacturing.
SCHMALE & SCHULTE SCHMALE & SCHULTE (Germany) was founded in 1954 in the Sauerland Lüdenscheid. It started out by producing aluminium fitting in die casting. With the beginning of the 1980s, the die-cast zinc was established in the production. A little later, the production was expanded to aluminium high pressure die casting. Nowadays, SCHMALE & SCHULTE is an aluminium and zinc foundry with high pressure and die casting facilities and the company has a large diversified customer base mainly spread between automotive, medical, construction and mechanical applications.

 

HI 

Chem Trend ChemTrend (Germany) is the worlds leading release agent company, specialized in low gassing lubricants. Its technological advice in all aspects of die lubrication is considered as absolutely necessary for the success of the project with regard to the application of heat treatment and welding.

 

RTD PARTNERS 

Azterlan IK4-AZTERLAN (Spain): The project coordinator  is a metallurgical research centre highly specialised in casting technologies. RTD activities  are  focused  on  solidification  in  casting  process,  new  techniques  for  predictive  metallurgical quality control, development of new alloys with improved performance and intelligent control of casting processes.
EURECAT (Spain) is an RTD focused on design and industrial production technologies. The Light Alloys Unit is equipped with 2 HPDC machines and has an experience of more than 7 years on this technology with and without vacuum. ICT department of Ascamm has a strong expertise in statistical analysis and KBR techniques, that has applied to different technologies, mainly plastic injection moulding.
Technische Universität Braunschweig TU-BS (Germany) has been selected for the specific and extended expertise in lubricant application in HPDC  and  in  developing  new  welding  technologies  for HPDC  components.

 

 

Former Partners (M1-M17) 

Aliasa ALIASA (Spain):  The  former project  coordinator  manufactured  aluminium  high  pressure  die-casting  (HPDC) mainly for automotive applications. ALIASA was the end-user of the technologies to be developed in the project
Diace Diace  (France): DIACE is an Aluminium SME foundry with high pressure and gravity die casting facilities. It’s integrated with machining and assembling. The company has a large diversified customer base mainly spread between electronics, aeronautical and automotive applications. Diace is a family owned company with 80 employees and its main activity is HPDC (7 machines ranging from 220 to 750 t) and it also has a small gravity die casting workshop.