Originally started as a proposal for the National Institute of Standards and Technology s Advanced Technology Program, DaimlerChrysler, Ford and GM decided to jointly fund this project after it failed to receive approval from the government. Lowering the porosity and defects in the cast parts improves quality and reduces waste caused by bad parts having to be scrapped. This also leads to a decrease in end cost supporting the goal of PNGV to produce an affordable car with increased gas mileage. Several die steels were tested in the laboratory to determine which properties resisted the thermal stresses associated in the pouring and cooling of aluminum in die casting. The composition along with the heat treating of the steel die has been found to effect the die life.
Porosity is caused by solidification, shrinkage and gas in the casting processes.
One hundred samples of 380 aluminum alloys were gathered from three automotive plants for analysis. The report on this part of the project is due by the end of 1998. Ohio State University is researching die casting porosity and defects.