One-Stop Precision Metal Manufacturing from Mold to Delivery

Lightweight Aluminum Housing for a German EV Power System

2026-09-24

The Project

A German electric vehicle manufacturer was developing a new generation of powertrain components and needed aluminum housings that could handle the job without adding unnecessary weight. These parts sat at the heart of the vehicle’s power system, meaning they had to protect critical electronics, manage heat buildup under load, and maintain structural integrity through thousands of charge and drive cycles. The client was moving toward mass production, so every decision at the manufacturing stage would directly affect unit cost and line consistency.

The Challenge

The project presented four interconnected problems that had to be solved together, not traded off one against another.

Reducing vehicle weight while maintaining structural strength. Aluminum was the right material, but the geometry had to be optimized so the housing could withstand assembly torque, road vibration, and thermal cycling without adding grams that would cut into the vehicle’s range target.

Improving thermal management performance. The power system generated significant heat during operation. The housing had to act as both a protective shell and a heat-dissipating path. Poor thermal design would force the client to add separate cooling hardware, increasing cost and packaging complexity.

Achieving stable mass production quality. EV programs demand consistency across tens of thousands of units. Dimensional drift, porosity in cast sections, or variation in machined sealing surfaces would cause assembly issues, warranty claims, and production line stoppages.

Controlling manufacturing costs. The client could not afford a process that required excessive machining from solid billet or a supply chain fragmented across multiple vendors. They needed a manufacturing path that was efficient, repeatable, and economically viable at volume.

Our Approach

We proposed an integrated manufacturing route that started with mold design and ended with finished, inspected parts ready for the assembly line.

Aluminum die casting process optimization. We designed the casting process to achieve the thin-wall sections the client needed for weight reduction while maintaining adequate material thickness in structural zones. Gating and venting were optimized to minimize porosity in critical areas and ensure consistent fill across the cavity.

Mold design and development. The tooling was developed in-house, allowing us to iterate quickly on early samples and fine-tune the mold before committing to mass production. This kept the development timeline tight and gave us direct control over mold maintenance and longevity during the production run.

CNC precision machining. After casting, we precision-machined mounting faces, sealing surfaces, and threaded interfaces to ensure the housing would mate cleanly with the client’s power module and cooling plates. This hybrid approach—cast the complex shape, machine the precision features—delivered both lightweight geometry and accurate assembly.

Dimensional inspection using CMM. Every critical dimension was verified on our coordinate measuring machine against the client’s tolerances. We provided full inspection data with first article submissions, giving their engineering team confidence before the parts ever reached the assembly floor.

Surface finishing solutions. We applied the specified surface treatment to improve corrosion resistance and provide a uniform thermal interface where the housing contacted the cooling system. The finish also gave the part a clean, production-ready appearance suitable for under-hood exposure.

The Result

The housings moved from first article approval into stable mass production without major process changes or tooling rework. The client’s assembly line accepted the parts directly, and the production data held steady across multiple lot releases.

Lightweight aluminum components. The optimized casting design hit the weight target while maintaining the structural performance required for automotive use.
Improved thermal performance. The housing design and surface treatment worked together to dissipate heat effectively, reducing the load on the vehicle’s active cooling system.
Stable production quality. Dimensional consistency and casting integrity held batch after batch, allowing the client to maintain tight incoming inspection standards without excessive rejection rates.
Reduced manufacturing costs. The integrated approach—die casting plus CNC finishing under one roof—eliminated the markup and logistics of managing multiple suppliers, while the optimized mold design minimized material waste and secondary operations.

What This Means for Your Project

If you are developing electric vehicle components and need aluminum housings or structural parts that balance weight, thermal performance, and cost at volume, we can deliver the full cycle in-house. From mold development to CMM-inspected finished parts, we help EV manufacturers move from prototype validation to mass production without fragmenting their supply chain.

Have an EV component that needs lightweight aluminum manufacturing? Send us your drawings and we will review the design for manufacturability within 24 hours.

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Get in touch with us

Longwin Metal, founded in 2002 as Xiamen Zhenyuan Die Casting Factory, is now an integrated ODM/OEM manufacturer of precision aluminum and zinc die cast components based in Zhangzhou, Fujian.

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Contact: Paul Hu

Phone: +86 13950196086

Email: phu@longwin-metal.com

WhatsApp: +86 13950196086

Address: No. 18-1, Fu Zhao Road, Chen Xiang Town, Chang Tai District, Zhang Zhou City, Fujian Province, China