As the global landscape of industrial competition experiences significant change, China is confronted with huge challenges as it makes new efforts to develop its economy. Through decades of rapid development, China has emerged as a global leader in the manufacturing industry, with an independent, complete system that spans all fields of manufacturing, thereby laying a solid foundation for China’s social and economic development. However, China is still in the early stages of industrialization, and lags far behind developed countries. In fact, China’s manufacturing industry is large in scale but not strong, lacks the ability to develop innovations independently, and relies too heavily on core technologies and high-end equipment imported from foreign countries.
The deep fusion of the new generation of information technology and the manufacturing industry is bringing about profound changes within the industry, creating new modes of production, industrial forms, business models and areas with great potential for growth. With every country around the world intensifying its effort to encourage scientific and technological innovation, China’s manufacturing industry is expected to have many opportunities as it tries to transform itself and develop through innovation.
A Review of the Development of China’s Die Casting Industry
In 1947, China’s first diecasting plant came into being in a small alley in Shanghai. Before 1949, only a few Chinese plants had a small number of imported cold- or hot-chamber die casting machines, mainly used for producing zinc alloy castings.
In the 1970s, the development of China’s motorcycle industry propelled the die casting industry, and a large number of die casting producers emerged, with the most rapid development taking place in Jiangsu Province, Zhejiang Province and Shanghai Municipality.
In the 1980s, China began to introduce reforms and ope itself up to the outside world, causing industries like automobile,hardware,motorcycle and wristwatch to experience rapid growth in the process.The die casting businesses began to flourish.
In the last 20 years,the diversified development of the die casting industry has helped China go from a large country to a powerful nation in die casting industry.Except for Zhejiang Province,Jiangsu Province and Shanghai Municipality,Guangdong Province and Chongqing Municipality have experienced the fastest growth,with their numbers of die casting foundries and their production capacities coninuing to grow.
As China's die casting industry technology advances,the die casting equipment industry has been developed quickly:
- During the 10th Five-Year Plan Period,the Ministry of Science and Technology included "Research and Evelopment around Large-scale Die Casting Machines for Magnesium Alloys (3,000 Tons)"in the national list of scientific and technological tasks.
- In October 2001, there is a Model DCC1600 Die Casting Machine for Magnalium Alloy on the Shanghai International Industrial Exposition,the machine developed with independent intellectual property,and showed the world for the first time.
- The Model DCC2000 Die Casting Machine for Magnalium Alloy was successfully developed.
- In Shenzhen, a base was set up under the auspices of the state for the industrialization of die casting machines for magnalium alloy and for the production of such machines for sale overseas to earn foreign exchange.
- In 2001, a task force was set up in Shenzhen to promote the cooperation on Magnalium alloy industrialization and aalication among three cities on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
- In 2002, a special program was launched in Shenzhen to provide funds to the effort to industrialize the die casting equipment industry.
- In 2007, the National Technical Committee on Hot Metal Forming standardization settled in Shenzhen.
- In 2007, the GM ordered several dozen of 3,000 Tons die-casting equipment from Chinese manufacturers for the first time.
- From 2005 to 2008, automakers of Japan Toyota and Honda began to use die casting equipment which made in China.
- From 2007 to 2010, Foxconn and BYD purchased many large die-casting equipment from domestic producers.
- In 2009, 3,500 Tons die-casting installations were included in the national list of critical scientific and technological tasks.
The Current Status of China's Die Casting Industry
As the trend toward a lighter automobile continues,the automotive industry is increasing its use of aluminum or magnesium die castings.including complicated components like the gearbox,engine housing,steering wheel,seats and dashboard.As a result,market demand for large die-casting machines with a minimum capacity of 1,000 Tons has increased obviously.
At present,the die-casting dies produced in China for use in household appliance and motorcycle industries and can fully satisfy domestic demand,the ratio of local dies in the automotive industry keeps on increasing,and magnesium alloy dies have begun mass production.Some Chinese manufacturers are now selling their parts overseas,while China still needs to import large,precision and complex moulds.
The Impact of “Made In China 2025”on the Development of the Die-casting Industry
The Document "Made In China 2025" issued in 2015,points out a direction for China's manufacturing industry including the die-casting industry to follow.The manufacturing industry needs to make three transformations: from Made in China into Created in China,from the Chinese breakneck speed into Chinese quality, and from Chinese products into Chinese brands.
