A consortium of automotive experts claims to have achieved a breakthrough in advanced aluminium casting technology that could reduce the weight of vehicle subframes. The partners have developed a cast aluminium subframe claimed to be 17% lighter at the front and 35% lighter at the rear than the components they would replace.
The consortium, named PIVOT (Performance Integrated Vehicle Optimisation Technology), is a £5.8 million project backed by the Advanced Propulsion Centre, which comprises Aston Martin, Siemens, Brunel University, Sarginsons Industries (a metals foundry), and GESCRAP (a specialist in metals recycling).
The subframes were designed using a combination of casting design techniques developed by PIVOT’s lead partner, Sarginsons, based in Coventry, UK, and topology optimisation technology from Siemens, including Simcenter Optistruct software and Simcenter Inspire software.
The Siemens software draws on a proprietary database of mechanical property data built from more than 20 years of physical testing and microstructural analysis, which enables Sarginsons to accurately predict how aluminium will behave throughout a casting process. This capability, claimed to be a world first, allows structural components to be validated in virtual crash simulation environments before any metal is poured.
The process replaces conservative assumptions with material-specific performance data, which Sarginsons says reduces the need for over-engineering, and enables lighter weight, more cost-effective, and higher-performing structural castings.
The front subframe has successfully completed a virtual development programme, and will now move into the next phase of development, with tooling scheduled to begin soon. The components will also undergo physical durability testing and be fitted to demonstrator vehicles for track evaluation, providing real-world validation of the virtual engineering approach used throughout the programme.
Gavin Shipley, technical director at Sarginsons, said of the project, “A physical crash test can cost up to £1 million every time you run one. For decades, the only way to be safe was to over-engineer, adding mass and material to compensate for uncertainty.
“By combining virtual engineering, AI and advanced casting expertise, we’re able to understand precisely how a component will behave before any metal is poured, giving manufacturers the confidence to design for real performance rather than worst-case assumptions.
“For decades, engineers have been forced to design around the limitations of casting. We’re now turning that thinking on its head, unlocking entirely new possibilities for lighter, stronger and more efficient vehicle structures.”
