New model in Carat series

Swiss company Bühler recently joined forces with machine manufacturer Engel to exhibit its Carat 840 megacasting solution at the Megacasting Unveiled event.

Held in June in the town of St. Valentin, Austria, this event was the first time the Carat 840 with a clamping force of 8,400 t was showcased in Europe. The machine is 7.6 metres tall and takes up around 160 square metres of floor space. According to the manufacturer, the system can cast more than 200 kilograms of molten aluminium into shape within milliseconds. The solution allows structural castings to be produced for vehicle bodyshells, reducing the complexity in production by replacing between 70 and 100 workpieces with a single casting.

According to the company, aluminium castings have the potential to drastically reduce CO2e emissions during production, as fewer steps are required to complete the work and all the processes can be powered by renewable energy. The reduction in CO2e emissions per part is also attributable to waste being minimised and aluminium alloys with low CO2e emissions being used. The material, which runs into overflows and channels, can be directly remelted and reused within the system, eliminating the need for it to be transported away for recycling.

Austrian outfit Engel builds the clamping units for the megacasting machines developed by Bühler. Synergy between the different areas of expertise offered by the two companies means that it is always possible to find new solutions in die casting. Stefan Engleder, CEO of the Engel Group, and Franz Füreder, head of the automotive business unit at Engel, highlight the significance of the collaboration with Bühler: “We are proud of the milestones we have reached in terms of implementing the clamping units for what are currently the largest machines in Bühler’s range – for the Bühler Carat 920, which was built in our plant in Asia, and for the Bühler Carat 840, made in St. Valentin.”