Soundcast partners across the consortium
Four industrial partners and three research bodies share the work; two further partners took part in the first months only.
Industrial partners
VDS (Switzerland)
Manufactures highly innovative vacuum valves and supplies complete vacuum equipment to the HPDC industry. Its participation and technological advice guarantee the success of the project.
RUFFINI (Spain)
An aluminium die casting company with more than 50 years of experience supplying the automotive industry, the household appliance sector and other areas with high technical demands. It has always invested in new technologies, and by joining Soundcast it expects new cooperation with the other partners and a gain in know-how, quality and manufacturing.
SCHMALE & SCHULTE (Germany)
Founded in 1954 in the Sauerland, in Lüdenscheid, first producing aluminium fittings by die casting. Zinc die casting joined in the 1980s and aluminium high pressure die casting a little later. Today it is an aluminium and zinc foundry with a diversified customer base across automotive, medical, construction and mechanical applications.
Chem-Trend (Germany)
The world’s leading release agent company, specialised in low gassing lubricants. Its advice on every aspect of die lubrication is considered essential for the heat treatment and welding goals of the project.
Research partners
IK4-AZTERLAN (Spain)
The project coordinator: a metallurgical research centre highly specialised in casting technologies. Its work centres on solidification in the casting process, predictive metallurgical quality control, new alloys with better performance and intelligent control of casting processes.
EURECAT (Spain)
A research and technology centre focused on design and industrial production technologies. Its Light Alloys Unit runs two HPDC machines and has more than seven years of experience with the technology, with and without vacuum. Its ICT department brings expertise in statistical analysis and knowledge-based reasoning, applied so far mainly to plastic injection moulding.
TU-BS (Germany)
Chosen for its extensive expertise in lubricant application in HPDC and in developing new welding technologies for HPDC components.
Former partners (months 1 to 17)
ALIASA (Spain)
The former project coordinator, a maker of aluminium high pressure die castings mainly for automotive use. It was the end user of the technologies developed in the project.
Diace (France)
An aluminium foundry with high pressure and gravity die casting facilities, integrated with machining and assembly. A family-owned company of 80 employees whose main activity is HPDC, on seven machines from 220 to 750 tonnes, plus a small gravity die casting workshop. Its customers come mostly from electronics, aeronautics and automotive.