1mm Thick High-Temperature Alloy Castings Deployed in Aerospace, Mass Production of 3D Printed Sand Casting Equipment, Lightweight Components Help Commercial Vehicles Achieve a Range of Over 600km-In 2026, China's foundry industry entered a high-quality development stage characterized by "technological breakthroughs + cluster collaboration + model innovation." At the 2026 China Foundry Industry High-Quality Development Conference, over a thousand industry practitioners reached a consensus: new quality productivity is driving the industry from scale expansion to value creation.
Technological Breakthroughs: High-Precision Breakthroughs Applied to Key Scenarios
A "millimeter-level breakthrough" was achieved in the aerospace field. Independently developed industrial-grade high-temperature alloy precision casting equipment mass-produced 1mm thick integrated load-bearing components, reducing the weight of aero-engine components by 15% and solving the "bottleneck" problem of high-end castings. In the new energy vehicle sector, "aluminum replacing iron" has become mainstream. Optimization of components such as electric drive housings has increased range by 8%, and the lost foam casting process has compressed new product cycles to a few weeks and reduced mold costs by 90%. The release of graphite anode material production capacity ensures the supply of power battery castings.
Jincheng, Shanxi Province, is building a national-level casting industry demonstration zone. 3D printing sand mold technology has shortened casting cycles by 40% and reduced costs by 30%. Zibo, Shandong Province, is promoting the construction of a high-end cluster, aiming to cultivate 20 enterprises with revenues exceeding 100 million yuan. Fully automated production lines achieve 98% sand resource recovery, and the region's annual production capacity exceeds 60,000 tons. The Yangtze River Delta has formed a complete industrial chain of "materials-equipment-forming," while the Pearl River Delta has built a closed loop of "die casting-recycling-testing." The defect rate of die castings in both regions is consistently controlled below 0.2%.
Model Upgrade: Going Global 2.0 and Asset-Light Transformation in Parallel
The industry's globalization is shifting from "single-point factory setup" to "ecosystem co-construction." Overseas bases are optimizing localized supply chains, reducing delivery cycles to 22 days, achieving a 90% employee retention rate, and seeing overseas orders grow by over 50% in the first quarter of 2026. SMEs are replicating production capacity through "technology output + cooperative factory construction," potentially doubling their revenue; industrial internet platforms have connected over 800 companies, and capacity sharing has further reduced industry downtime losses by 12%.
The Yangtze River Raw Materials Index shows that the total market capitalization of the core materials sector will increase by 3.15% in 2026, with high-temperature alloys and graphite anode prices rising steadily, highlighting the cost advantages of short-process casting. On the policy front, many regions have included casting in the "AI+" support area; Jincheng is promoting the intelligent transformation and digital transformation of 30 enterprises, and Zibo has established a 200 million yuan R&D special fund. The head of the China Foundry Association stated that, coupled with the surge in high-end demand and collaboration across clusters and globalization, the industry's revenue is projected to grow by over 12% in 2026, entering a mature stage of high-quality development.