MULTI-FUN sets a clear focus on market-creating innovation, developing advanced materials and equipment for Additive Manufacturing of multi-material parts. These new material combinations will provide a significant performance & efficiency gain in MAM products by fully integrated multi-functionalities based on novel active materials and enable MULTI-MATERIAL design in geometrically complex 3D metal parts without size limitations by innovative, cost-effective AM technologies. The novel integrated functionalities include embedded electrical conductivity, fibre-optical sensing features or innovative heat management concepts, incl. applying nanotechnologies in at least 3 variants. Leading experts in AM process & equipment manufacturing (from SMEs, IND, RTOs and UNIV) will fully cover the physical integration of these advanced materials into metallic substrates. Significant improvements in efficiency, quality & reliability of products will result in KPI numbers beyond the request (>40%), alongside reduced environ

The MAGIT consortium comprises a German engineering company for product and process development (TiK), a Swiss aluminium die casting foundry (ALUWAG), a Belgium tool manufacturer (surtechno) (all SMEs) as well as a German Foundry Institute (Aalen University of Applied Sciences). Thus, the consortium has all necessary competences to achieve the objectives of the FTI project. The European automotive industry is faced with wide-ranging challenges in the common years. Especially electric mobility, lightweight design and intelligent use of materials is essential for current and future car development. In modern cars, many components are already produced in die casting, which is the most promising technology regarding cost-effective large-scale production. To extend the application possibilities of this technology, a new and disrupting process was developed, which enables the use of gas injection in aluminium or magnesium high pressure die casting and the production of components with hollow structures. Through this, significant cost savings can be achieved by the elimination of upstream and downstream manufacturing processes and weight can be reduced drastically by using lighter materials, but also new constructional possibilities for complex, hollow and thin-walled components with a load-adjusted design. By MAGIT, integrated fluid duct components can be realised. These can be used for cooling of power electronics and electric motors or temperature controlling of vehicle batteries. While the complex hollow components primarily address the European automotive industry, the new technology and the MAGIT device primarily addresses the European die casting industry for non-ferrous metals. By the innovative technology, the MAGIT consortium expects to generate additional cumulative turnover of 40 million € and an increase in staff headcount of 55 in 2024.