Interview with Richard Oberle, part 2: "Sometimes you just have to jump in at the deep end to be there tomorrow."

In 1974, Richard Oberle left the tranquil town of Elsenfeld in Lower Franconia to develop components for die-casting machines at Idra in Italy. Decades later, his decision resulted in the invention of the Giga Press, which is on its way to revolutionising the automotive industry. Together with Fiorenzo Dioni, the now 84-year-old received the European Inventor Award for his work. The second part of the interview is about Oberle's view of the future of die casting.

Mr Oberle, the trend in the automotive industry is towards ever larger die-cast parts and machines. Is there a limit to this from your point of view?

Richard Oberle: Ten years ago, there was a customer enquiry from America for a machine with a clamping force of 20,000 tonnes. We thought about it carefully and then we said: Yes, we can do it. But the order was not placed. Thank goodness it wasn't, because it might have been too big a step. We then built the first 9000 tonne machines and they are running excellently, both mechanically and in terms of hydraulics and controls. We can build on this and build even bigger machines if the market demands it. I think people will always try to produce bigger and better things. I'm curious to see if I'll still be part of it.

It is said that technical problems occur in the series production of very large die-cast parts. Are rejects and downtimes simply part of the process or are there solutions?

Oberle: With conventional control systems, there is a valve on the rod side of the press-fit cylinder that controls the speed. If hydraulic oil is used, there can be a diesel effect and the oil ignites. And with a water-glycol mixture, which is usually used, the high temperature can cause the water to separate from the glycol and generate huge pressure peaks. This not only leads to a loss of quality in the cast parts, but also to repeated machine downtimes. Valves or cylinders break, seals are burnt and so on. I developed the "5S" control system precisely because downtimes cause high costs. A three-chamber pressure cushion ensures that I am always in control of the operating conditions of the press-fit cylinder. We built the first prototype in 2018. Since then, it has been running in a foundry in Italy - without downtime.

Gigacasting currently only exists in the automotive industry. Do you think applications outside of this are possible and likely?

Oberle: Definitely possible. I don't see an application at the moment, but now that the Giga Press is available, a clever person will think about it. The big advantage is that I don't have to produce lots of parts and join them together with all kinds of rivets, screws or by welding. This will help to generate new ways of thinking.

Does that mean that someone like Elon Musk would also be needed in other industries?

Oberle: He has set something in motion, and that's a good thing. We can learn from this, for example in terms of decisiveness.

Loading component...

Very large castings are usually produced by the car manufacturers themselves. What impact could this have on the suppliers, i.e. the traditional foundries?

Oberle: The automotive industry has always had its own foundries, but it has always relied on suppliers because it has to cushion fluctuations in demand. I believe that suppliers will also adapt to this to some extent. Of course, it will be difficult for suppliers to make such investments. But perhaps mergers will be formed to do something like this. Sometimes you just have to jump in at the deep end to be there tomorrow.

Loading component...

You are now 84 years old. What else would you like to give the die casting world?

Oberle: Elon Musk says that the machines need to become even faster. I say: You can no longer do that with today's control system. You have to rethink the control system. And I will use the time to concretise this a little. Let's see if we can build a prototype.

In the past, people used to design things differently than they do today. Today there are computers and AI. Have you mastered these techniques?

Oberle: Computers yes, AI no!

So you have your ideas in your head and have people to realise them for you?

Oberle: That's the way it is. That's how it was and that's how it's stayed. I'd be interested in getting into that a bit, but I think that with the wealth of experience I have, you can find the best possible solution for a lot of things.

Mr Oberle, thank you very much for the interview!

Loading component...

Read the first part of the interview on EUROGUSS 365.

Interview Richard Oberle part 1

EUROGUSS 365 newsletter

To the newsletter