Gigacasting pioneers win the European Inventor Award 2024

Fiorenzo Dioni and Richard Oberle, engineers at Idra Italia, were awarded the European Inventor Award in the "Industry" category on 9 July 2024. The European Patent Office (EPO) was impressed by their work on the Giga Press die-casting machine, which produces significantly larger parts with far fewer components, thereby reducing waste and energy consumption in the automotive industry.

The winners of the European Inventor Award 2024 were announced on Tuesday at a hybrid event in Malta. Dionis and Oberle's pioneering work led to the development of the Giga Press, which is one of the largest die-casting machines in the world. In combination with the so-called "5S injection system", it produces parts on a larger scale and with fewer components - a revolution for the construction of electric vehicles.

EUROGUSS 365 has reported on the gigacasting process, also known as megacasting, several times in 2024. In the TREND REPORT "Aluminium die casting enters new dimensions - all mega or what?", we took a detailed look at the possibilities and limitations of the process from the perspective of practitioners and scientists.

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Innovative milestone

"The Giga Press machine is revolutionizing the automotive industry and will forever change the world of die casting," said Dioni at the award ceremony. "Our invention is primarily a development tailored to the market because the input came from the market. But this project will be a great advantage for the future of the whole automobile industry: less investment, more energy saving and great saving also for the final user."

The winners accept the prize. — Dioni and Oberle accept the award in Malta

"I have spent a lifetime designing hydraulic systems, and reaching the 5S first and then the Giga Press has been a great satisfaction," adds co-winner Richard Oberle. "With my extensive experience in this field, I never imagined at the beginning of my career that we could achieve such an innovative milestone that would change the world of die casting."

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Streamlined production

The Giga Press is designed to simplify car production. Unlike conventional techniques, which require the assembly of many individual parts, Idra's Giga Press and comparable machines from other manufacturers produce two to three large castings.

The invention has streamlined production and thus reduced product costs for vehicle manufacturers, as fewer parts are required and transport costs are also lower. The Giga Press also has a metal recycling device that collects aluminium offcuts and reuses them for the next casting cycle, reducing the amount of waste. In addition, Idra estimates that the latest version of the Giga Press consumes 54 per cent less energy.

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