SMM reported that the price of A356 aluminum alloy dipped 200 yuan/mt on February 9.

In the recent aviation incident at Tokyo's Haneda airport involving the Japan Airlines Airbus A350, the resilience of the aircraft's composite structure, comprising 53% composite materials, has come into sharp focus.

On Monday, March 25, China’s A00 aluminium ingot price has grown by RMB 40 per tonne to settle at RMB 19,340 per tonne, with the spot contract price expected to be traded at a discount price of RMB 100 to RMB 60 per tonne.

Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd’s extrusion plant in China has reportedly started supplying aluminium battery casings and car bumpers to vehicle manufacturers in the mainland.

China’s alumina spot price has skipped RMB 1 per tonne upwards, officially closing at RMB 2,913 per tonne.

On April 16, at the AICE 2025 SMM (20th) Aluminum Industry Conference and Aluminum Industry Expo — Aluminum Die Casting Industry Development Forum, co-organized by SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd., SMM Metal Trading Center, and Shandong Aisi Information Technology Co., Ltd., and co-sponsored by Zhongyifeng Jinyi (Suzhou) Technology Co., Ltd. and Lezhi County Qianrun Investment Service Co., Ltd., Wenping Zhu, Eaton (China) Investment Co., Ltd.'s global aluminum alloy casting expert, special expert/director, and senior die casting engineer qualification certification training lecturer, shared a comparison of low-pressure casting and high-pressure die casting processes, as well as their advantages and disadvantages. **Differences in Process Principles** **Low-Pressure Casting** Pressure range: 0.01-0.1 MPa (low pressure). Principle: Compressed air is used to slowly press molten metal from a sealed holding furnace into the mold through a riser tube. The metal fills the cavity from top to bottom under low pressure and solidifies under pressure. Characteristics: Smooth filling, good metal fluidity, fewer pores and inclusions. **High-Pressure Die Casting** Pressure range: 10-200 MPa (extremely high pressure). Principle: Molten metal is injected at high speed into a steel mold under high pressure (provided by the injection cylinder), rapidly filling the mold and solidifying under high pressure. Characteristics: Fast filling speed (millisecond level), suitable for complex thin-walled parts, but prone to gas entrapment. Low-pressure casting and high-pressure die casting are two common metal casting processes, mainly used for forming non-ferrous metals such as aluminum alloys and magnesium alloys. They have significant differences in principles, application scenarios, and product characteristics. **Comparison of Process Characteristics** **Low-Pressure Casting** Advantages: Good casting density, high mechanical properties, fewer pore defects, capable of producing larger parts. Disadvantages: Long cycle time, higher mold cost, not suitable for ultra-thin-walled parts. Higher production cost, wall thickness must be >3.5 mm, preferably over 4 mm. **High-Pressure Die Casting** Advantages: High production efficiency (multiple parts can be produced per minute), suitable for complex thin-walled parts, high surface precision. High dimensional accuracy, small machining allowance. Disadvantages: Internal pores are common in castings, usually not heat-treatable (pores may expand), extremely high mold cost. Wall thickness greater than 2 mm is sufficient. Low-pressure casting can design closed beams of any diameter, and its advantages in torsional stiffness of closed beams were introduced. High precision dimensions and ultra-thin wall thickness are significant advantages of die casting. Additionally, magnesium alloy high-pressure die castings were introduced. **Breakthroughs and Development Directions for Low-Pressure Casting** 1. Material Innovation: Breakthroughs in high-performance aluminum alloys • Development of high-strength and high-toughness alloys: To meet the needs of new energy vehicles and aerospace, develop new-type aluminum alloys (such as high-silicon aluminum, aluminum-lithium alloys) to improve the specific strength and high-temperature performance of castings. Tensile strength breakthrough of 380 MPa for A356. • Application of composite materials: Breakthroughs in casting technology for aluminum matrix composites (such as SiC particle-reinforced aluminum) to achieve higher stiffness and wear resistance, used for chassis and powertrain components. 2. Process Upgrade: Intelligence and efficiency improvement • Development of low-pressure casting methods with efficient cycles, • Riser tube casting technology, • Electromagnetic pump casting technology • AI algorithm optimization to improve yield and cycle time. • 3D printed sand molds/metal molds **Breakthroughs and Development Directions for High-Pressure Die Casting** Technological breakthroughs: Enhancing performance and process limits, mainly focusing on defect elimination • 1. Ultra-large integrated die casting Breakthroughs needed in mold material heat resistance, press tonnage (over 12,000 mt), and vacuum technology. • 2. Popularization of vacuum high-pressure die casting (VHPDC) Reducing pores through vacuum (porosity 150℃). 3. Efficient application of secondary aluminum Trend: Improving the purity of secondary aluminum through refining technology (Fe content <0.15%), reducing costs and carbon emissions. • The application scenarios and development of magnesium alloy high-pressure die casting and semi-solid die casting, as well as the development and research of magnesium alloy raw materials suitable for die casting, were also elaborated. **Breakthroughs and Development Directions for Both Casting Processes** • Green Manufacturing: Low-carbon and circular economy 1. Energy-saving equipment upgrade: Servo motor-driven die casting machines (energy consumption reduced by 40%), waste heat recovery systems. 2. Environmental protection release agents and coatings: Trend of replacing oil-based agents with water-based release agents, chromium-free passivation treatment. 3. Closed-loop recycling system: Model of OEMs collaborating with aluminum companies to establish scrap recycling networks. • Low-carbon, energy-saving, and environmentally friendly equipment and technologies Analysis of multi-barrel injection technology and micro-precision spraying technology. • Intelligence and Digitization: Precise process control 1. AI-driven process optimization Real-time monitoring. xx launched intelligent die casting machines, improving yield by 15%. 2. Digital twins and virtual trial molds Integration of AI algorithms in simulation platforms such as MAGMA and ProCAST. 3. Blockchain traceability system Function: Recording the process parameters and material sources of each casting, meeting the quality traceability needs of the automotive industry. • Expansion of Application Scenarios: From automotive to multiple fields 1. Aerospace and robotics Drone frames. Robotic arm joints. 2. Consumer electronics: Mobile phone/computer frames 3. Commercial vehicles, general equipment fields. • Peripheral, post-processing automation Online, intelligent detection, automatic feedback, and automatic parameter adjustment. 》Click to view the special report on AICE 2025 SMM (20th) Aluminum Industry Conference and Aluminum Industry Expo.