EV Motor Housing Die Casting: VADC Case Study
EV motor housing die casting case study: vacuum-assisted HPDC with T6 heat treatment, IP67 cooling jacket, and H6 bearing bores for a Tier 1 BEV program.
Production Capabilities
Project photos for EV motor housing die casting
Finished Component
The completed die casting or machined component delivered for this project, demonstrating dimensional accuracy and surface quality.
Production & Inspection
In-process die casting operations, leak testing, machining, and quality inspection steps applied during this program.
Customer: European Tier 1 automotive supplier Program: Front axle motor housing, battery electric passenger vehicle Annual volume: 80,000 pieces/year Material: A380 aluminum, T6 heat treated Finished weight: 4.2 kg
The Challenge
The customer's existing motor housing was gravity cast A356-T6. Converting to HPDC for cost at 80,000 units/year created three simultaneous requirements that conflict in standard HPDC:
- T6 heat treatment -requires near-zero gas porosity (standard HPDC causes blistering at 510°C solution treatment)
- Pressure-tight cooling jacket at 4 bar operating pressure
- H6 bearing bores with DE/NDE concentricity <=0.025 mm
Standard HPDC A380 fails on all three counts -gas porosity causes blistering, micro-porosity fails the leak test, and castings warp non-uniformly.
KastMfg's Solution
Vacuum-Assisted HPDC (VADC)
Dedicated VADC machine, cavity vacuum <30 mbar at injection trigger. Mold flow simulation optimized gate position for vacuum-driven fill rather than turbulence-driven fill.
X-ray result: ASTM E505 Class 1 porosity across all sections including cooling jacket walls.
T6 Heat Treatment
- Solution treatment: 508°C, 8 hours
- Water quench: 60°C controlled temperature
- Artificial aging: 160°C, 6 hours
Mechanical property results (n=30):
| Property | Requirement | Achieved |
|---|---|---|
| Tensile strength | >=340 MPa | 368 MPa avg |
| Yield strength | >=280 MPa | 302 MPa avg |
| Elongation | >=3% | 5.1% avg |
| Hardness | >=87 HRB | 89 HRB avg |
Bearing Bore Machining
H6 bores machined on horizontal machining center in single setup. DE/NDE concentricity achieved: 0.018 mm (requirement: 0.025 mm). Face perpendicularity: 0.012 mm (requirement: 0.020 mm).
Cooling Jacket: 100% Pressure Test
100% nitrogen test at 8 bar, 30-second hold, decay limit <1 cm3/min. Production pass rate after gate velocity optimization: 100% over 2,400 consecutive pieces.
PPAP Outcome
Level 3 PPAP approved first submission. Cpk on bearing bore diameter: 1.87 (requirement >=1.67). Cpk on cooling jacket leak test: 2.1.
Results
- Zero field warranty claims in 18 months of production
- 100% pressure test pass rate in production (100% test, not sampling)
- T6 scrap rate: <1%
- PPAP first-time approval, no resubmission
Contact KastMfg: casting@kastdiecast.com | +86 138 1403 4409 | No.6, Rungu Road, Nanjing, China
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