European Inventor Award for Bavarian Engineer: Less Energy and Waste in the Production of E-Cars

Bavarian engineer Richard Oberle has been awarded the European Inventor Award. Oberle and Italian engineer Fiorenzo Dioni together developed a die-casting machine for the production of electric cars that saves time, material, and energy. It has the potential to "revolutionize the automotive industry," the European Patent Office announced prior to the award ceremony on Tuesday in Malta.

Manufacturing Within Seconds

Usually, the underbody of a car is assembled from dozens of components, all of which are individually manufactured. Oberle and Dioni developed a process to manufacture the underbody using liquid aluminum and extreme pressure from just two to three large components. In this process, more than 100 kilograms of molten aluminum are pressed into the mold at a speed of 10 meters per second.

“The entire process can be repeated every 120 seconds, allowing a total of 500 die-cast components to be manufactured in three eight-hour shifts,” the Patent Office informed.

The Giga Press represents a paradigm shift in terms of production capacity and speed. 

Giga Press in Use at Tesla and Volvo

The 85-year-old Richard Oberle lives by Lake Ammersee and now works - as a consultant - for the small auto supplier Idra in Brescia near Lake Garda; Fiorenzo Dioni is the head of development there. Their Giga Press is in use at Tesla and Volvo, among others.

Other automakers, however, criticize the die-casting process for very large components for its interplay of product properties, crash safety, and cost-effectiveness. The rejection rate is high, as is the logistical effort. Repairs after an accident are very complex.