Georg Fischer Automotive has received its first order for a cast-metal component produced from Stabilized Aluminum Foam. SAF is a metallic foam produced by bubbling gas through molten aluminum. The announcement was made by Cymat Technologies of Toronto, the company that developed the Low-Pressure Foam Casting Technology.
In November 2006, GF Automotive entered into an exclusive global licensing agreement with Cymat covering developing and manufacturing of automotive components produced using Cymat's proprietary technology.
The order to GF Automotive involves a prototype chassis component, and was placed by a German manufacturer of high-performance vehicles aiming to reduce vibration and to stiffen the automotive structure.
The prototypes will be produced by GF Automotive in Switzerland and delivered by the end of this business quarter.
Cymat reports it will begin earning royalty payments for the part. "I am very pleased with the achievement of this important milestone in Cymat's automotive initiative," stated Cymat exec. chairman Michael Liik. "This first prototype order is the result of several years of development work and collaboration with our manufacturing partner Georg Fischer," he added.
"This first prototype order is a key validation of Cymat's SAF technology," according to Georg Fischer director of R&D Leopold Kniewallner. "We believe that this order and others will be a catalyst for commercialization of SAF and lead to accelerating acceptance of the technology among automakers."