FABCAST’s expertise is rooted in almost 100 years of experience with gravity casting, while the company itself was established in 2017 in response to growing global demand for aluminum gravity-cast components. Its production facility occupies 7,000 m² within a total property of 26,000 m², providing additional space for future expansion.
The company’s approach to business development is centered on continuous improvement and rests on three key foundations: manufacturing innovation, fast and dependable service, and consistently high product quality. Between 2017 and 2019, FABCAST invested almost €5 million in transforming its facility into a state-of-the-art foundry. The investment included technological advancements covering engineering, quality assurance, production and an integrated management system. In its day-to-day operations, FABCAST aims to bring together reliability, ethical integrity, high quality and fair, competitive business practices.
FABCAST manufactures technically demanding components using no-bake sand casting and gravity die casting. This enables a vertically integrated production chain covering the complete process from project development through mold making, casting and finishing to heat treatment and machining. Its core shop is equipped to meet the requirements of both no-bake sand casting and gravity die casting. This allows FABCAST to produce cores of different sizes and levels of complexity, using both hot-box and cold-box technologies.
A Strong Technology Partnership with INEGI
For the development of its new e-bike frames, FABCAST joined forces with INEGI through the Agenda Mobilizadora para a Inovação Empresarial do Setor das Duas Rodas (AM2R). INEGI is a research and technology organisation dedicated to research, technology-driven innovation, consulting and technological services. Founded in 1986, its mission is to generate value for industry, society and the economy while advancing innovation in engineering.
INEGI pursues this mission by working closely with companies, partners within the innovation ecosystem and higher education institutions, with the aim of turning knowledge into practical value. Its track record includes more than 350 employees, 120 researchers and over 160 successful industrial projects. By maintaining a strong focus on the needs and challenges of its partners and clients, INEGI has established itself as a leading reference for technological consulting, research and innovation in Portugal, while also building an international reputation. Its activities are guided by five core values: responsibility, cooperation, passion for innovation, ambition and customer focus.
Optimising both the design and manufacturing of electric bike frames by combining several components into a single casting was therefore a natural fit with INEGI’s expertise. From the outset, INEGI supported FABCAST’s concept of using aluminum casting to develop a new generation of e-bike frames. The approach also helped shorten production times by reducing the number of manufacturing steps required, including processes such as extrusion, forging and welding.
“The growing demand for electric bikes has driven technological innovation in the sector, but integrating large motors and batteries continues to present challenges for frame design and manufacturing,” explains Filipe Monteiro, INEGI’s project manager.
A New Generation of E-Bike Frames from FABCAST
Sustainability is playing an increasingly important role in the mobility concepts of modern cities. Growing awareness of environmental issues, combined with the rising importance of sustainable mobility, has led to the development of new ways to travel through urban areas. At the same time, advances in electric motor and battery technology, product design and cycling infrastructure have made e-bikes more accessible and practical than ever. The continued growth of e-bike use has also generated considerable interest across research and industry, highlighting a range of potential benefits. Nevertheless, several challenges continue to limit their wider adoption. The greater weight and bulk of e-bikes, together with their range limitations, remain among the key obstacles.
Because the battery adds additional mass to the bicycle structure, the frame must provide sufficient rigidity to accommodate it. Finding the right balance between overall e-bike weight and battery capacity is therefore both critical and challenging. This makes the selection of an appropriate design, manufacturing process and material particularly important. Before moving into production, the development team carried out a benchmark analysis of existing solutions on the market to establish an initial concept. During the subsequent concept development phase, the requirements for the final product were defined. These included a step-through frame, a mid-drive motor, front suspension, a removable battery integrated into the frame and, above all, a design suitable for the casting process.
Based on these requirements, several design concepts were developed before the team selected a solution in which the head tube, seat tube, motor bracket and down tube are integrated directly into a single casting. This approach significantly reduced the need for subsequent welding and forming operations. The feasibility of both the component and its gating system was verified using ProCAST® simulation software. Following the extensive research and development work carried out by FABCAST and INEGI, the first prototype castings were manufactured by gravity casting with an aluminum alloy using 3D-printed sand molds. One of these prototypes was presented at CastForge 2026 in Stuttgart. The prototypes served to validate the geometry and paved the way for the successful development of an LPDC (Low Pressure Die Casting) mold. The mold is now operational and provides the basis for scaling up production of the component.
The project has ultimately produced a new generation of e-bike frames developed by FABCAST and INEGI, demonstrating what can be achieved when aluminum casting, technological innovation and research are brought together.
