A super-size success. Innovative Westomat

A perfect fit for Handtmann ’s giant casting

Martin Eisenbraun, Head of Advanced Manufacturing Engineering Department said: “Having used StrikoWestofen furnaces for many years and, knowing that they offer solutions for giant casting cells, they were the obvious choice to help us with this important new venture.

Handtmann Group’s Light Metal Casting division has produced its first giant castings for automotive customers at its Biberach headquarters in Germany. What’s feeding their enormous 61,000 KN high pressure die casting machine? A first-of-its-kind innovation. A dosing furnace for giant casting made possible by combining StrikoWestofen’ s expert furnace engineering with Handtmann’ s vast foundry experience. The innovations in this Westomat GC will benefit Westomat Classic and Duo.

Investing in the future of automotive 
Handtmann is the largest family-run light metal foundry in Europe. The company was also the first Tier 1 automotive supplier in Europe to invest in facilities and equipment for producing so-called ‘giant’ or ‘mega’ casting where multiple components are consolidated into a single diecast part. 
To supply its huge diecasting machine with the volume and quality of liquid metal required for such complex castings, Handtmann needed a large capacity dosing furnace that would fit their specific production needs. They knew they could trust StrikoWestofen to help.  
A pioneering tech partnership  
Martin Eisenbraun, Head of Advanced Manufacturing Engineering Department said: “Having used StrikoWestofen furnaces for many years and, knowing that they offer solutions for giant casting cells, they were the obvious choice to help us with this important new venture. We approached them to see what was possible, not only with Westomat but on how to improve the arrangement of individual components around the furnace to best meet our requirements.” 
Working in close technical collaboration, StrikoWestofen’ s engineers and Martin Eisenbraun’ s team combined their collective knowledge. The result? A new dosing furnace for the Biberach giant casting facility and an innovation to the Westomat range! 
 
Westomat GC: A big deal for giant casting 
With an impressive holding capacity of 3,400 kg, the Westomat GC is an ideal companion for giant die casting machines. And not just in terms of supplying enough aluminium for larger shot weights. As with all Westomat furnaces, key design features ensure high metal yield and high-quality melt while also enabling tasks like cleaning and essential maintenance to be carried out in less time, and with minimal effort. 
 

Contact us today to learn more!

Contact StrikoWestofen to learn more about our innovative solutions and how we can support your operation. We are here to help if you have any question or need assistance.  

Contact us today!

A successful start to a new casting era

Georgios Petsidis, Senior Engineer from StrikoWestofen, commented: “Having evaluated the current ergonomics of Westomat in relation to customer pain points, we were able to identify design improvements that would address distinct needs and have the most impact. Ensuring the result would be easy to use, comfortable to operate, and super accessible. In other words, ideal for this type of environment. It was a challenge. For giant casting the constructive requirements are high. As well as ensuring the right amount of liquid metal is delivered on time, we had to look at furnace housing and lining design to create exactly the right solution. We’re extremely proud of the result and to now see our development in operation at Handtmann.”

Martin Eisenbraun added: “This Westomat is the perfect fit for our giant casting needs. It’s a great addition to our facility, and one that will prove very important for this new era for automotive castings.”