<div class="htmlview paragraph">The long-term objective of this work is to develop design and modeling tools that allow the structural behavior of thin-walled cast components to be predicted when subjected to static and dynamic loads such as in crash situations. Here, the energy absorption potential of High Pressure Die Cast components made of magnesium alloys AM20, AM50, AM60, AZ91 and the aluminum alloy AlSi7Mg is investigated using a shear-bolt principle. For the AM60 alloy, single plates cast with different thickness have been tested in order to investigate the effect of plate thickness on the shear-bolt mechanism. It is found that this deformation principle gives an approximately constant mean force during the deformation process. The behavior seems to be very robust, especially for the magnesium alloys. A simple empirical model for prediction of the mean shearing force as a function of plate thickness and bolt diameter is proposed.</div>