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hen Honda decided to relaunch a new generation of its Acura NSX sportscar, which originally de- buted 25 years ago, it put an R&D team in charge of its develop-


ment and announced global production would be in the U.S. The carmaker wanted to push itself to use advanced materials and processes in building the supercar. After three years of design, the production version of the NSX was unveiled this January, featuring a space-frame body built with advanced materials and processes—some for the first time in production. Key to the space frame were three cast alumi- num connecting joints produced by Honda via the groundbreaking ablation casting process. “Just like the original, which


MEDIA RESOURCE Using the Actable App on your mobile device, scan this


page to watch a video highlight- ing some of the design features of the Casting of the Year winner. To watch online, go to www.metalcastingtv.com


Casting of the Year


Cast Component: Lower front body, upper front body and rear body nodes.


Casting Supplier: Honda of America Anna Engine Plant.


Material: A356.2 aluminum. Weight: 8.296 lbs. (lower front node), 6.713 lbs. (upper front node), 15.909 lbs. (rear node). Dimensions: 24.173 x 9.173 x 3.819 in. (lower front node), 16.732 x 5.551 x 6.89 in. (upper front node), and 18.819 x 9.882 x 16.929 in. (rear node). Application: Honda Acura NSX supercar space frame. Converted From: Previous design concepts utilized castings, stampings and extrusion parts that were welded together.


• T e use of ablation casting to achieve excellent properties allowed the cast nodes to be used within the critical crash zone of the frame, open- ing up additional design freedom that led to cost savings and improved performance.


• T rough component consolidation, Honda reduced cost by cutting tool- ing investment. Additionally, the application of a casting in the space frame eliminated the need for MIG (metal inert gas) weld length on each side of the vehicle, thereby minimizing thermal distortion of the space frame during construction.


• T e mechanical properties of the hollow node castings match the properties of the surrounding extrusions. To crush in the proper mode, certain areas of the node castings also match the wall thickness of the extrusions 0.12-0.16 in. (3-4mm). T e nodes also incorporate thick sec- tion bosses to rigidly mount to the front suspension arms.


May/Jun 2015 | METAL CASTING DESIGN & PURCHASING | 21


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