Metal Casting Zone Info Blog

Kent Klein asked:


Die casting is the method used for forcing molten metal into mold cavities under high pressure. Die casting is very versatile and hence, is the widest used method for casting a metal. Die casting is same as permanent mold casting the only difference is that the metal is injected into the mold at very high pressure of 10-210 Mpa. This results in a more uniform part, usually good dimensional accuracy and also good surface finish.

The different metals and alloys that can be used in die casting are zinc, aluminum, copper, magnesium, tin and lead. Ferrous metals can also be used for die casting, die casting method is generally used for applications in which a large quantity is medium or small sized parts are required with detail, good dimension and fine surface finish.

There are namely two equipments used for die casting cold chamber and hot chamber process.

Cold Chamber process: In the cold chamber category of die casting, a cold chamber of each module is filled with molten metal. The time exposure provided for the molten metal to plunge the walls of the mold is less. This clod chamber process method is very useful for metals like aluminum, copper and metals that easily alloy with iron at high temperatures.

Hot Chamber process: In the hot chamber process method of die casting, the pressure that is connected to the die cavity is forever and permanently in molten metal. As the plunger moves towards the open position that is towards the non – pressurized area, the inlet port connected to the pressurizing cylinder is uncovered.

The die casting molds which are used in this method are expensive and take usually take long production time. These die casting modules are also called as “dies’

Advantages of Die Casting: The method of die casting gives excellent dimensional accuracy. The dimensional accuracy is as good as 0.1mm for the first 2.5cms and 0.005 for the first inch. Die casting also provides with smooth cast surfaces. Small and thin walls and can be made using the method of die casting walls as tiny as 0.75mm approximately can be casted. Inserts like thread insert, high strength bearing surfaces and heating elements can also be inserted using the Die Casting method. Die casting also helps in reducing or even completely eliminating the use of secondary machining operations. The use of Die Casting method also helps to reduce the production time and a huge number of articles can be produced in a very short time. Die casting method also helps to retain as well as increase the tensile strength of the metal. It offers tensile strength as high as 415 MPa that is 60ksi.

Disadvantages of Die Casting: The casting weight is very less hardly between 30 grams and 10 kgs. Also the size of the material that needs to be casted using the Die Casting method needs to small say around 600mm. the process of Die Casting requires high budget and can pile up high initial cost. Die Casting method makes the metal porous up to some extent. In the Die Casting method the thickest section needs to be less than 13mm or 0.5 inches.

DIY Metal Casting

Macie asked:


One of the most widely used materials in the die casting industry is Aluminum. Aluminum die casting has been an extremely flourishing industry in all parts of the world generating parts and items that have become house hold items and daily requirements tools for the masses. Aluminum die casting manufacturing units produce a plethora of products ranging from parts in automobile industries all the way to tools that are heavily used in the construction industry.

Aluminum die casting is also different from other metal die casting (http://automobile.dmc.co.kr/eng/die-casting.asp ) processes in several ways that make aluminum die casting a widely used industry standard. The primary difference is the type of mold that is being used in the Aluminum die casting manufacturing plants. The other difference in the manufacturing units is the processes and procedures used through which molten metal is delivered to the die. Other die casting manufacturing processes do not provide this type of output. Though molds can certainly be manufactured by an extensive variety of materials, dies are only made of metal. And steel is the predominant die for almost the entire die casting manufacturing units. In almost all the molds that are currently used in the industry ranging from, plaster, iron, steel, and polystyrene, Steel is the only element used as a die. The third difference between aluminum die casting and other forms of die casting is that in Aluminum die casting, the die is filed with molten metal. The metal is filled under very strong degrees of pressure in order to ensure a proper filling into the die. In many die casting processes, the liquid metal is simply poured into the die by gravity only. This technique used in the aluminum die casting manufacturing processes enables the manufacturers to substantially produce larger volumes of cast products than any other form of die casting. The ability of mass production and quality has made aluminum die casting process a standard among the thousands of manufactures busy in producing various products for different industries. The top priority of many nascent die manufactures is to fully equip the plant with aluminum die casting. Other die casting manufacturing machines become a second best in the industry.

How large is the global Aluminum die casting manufacturing segment of the market? According to a recently published U.S. Census Bureau there are more than 300 aluminum die casting manufacturing units operational in the United States alone. A good 500 units are set up in China that are producing the world’s largest aluminum die casting by products and supplying the products to all segments of the market. Korea and Australia are both flourishing economies of scale and are rapidly ramping up their total number of units to cater to the ongoing demands of the market. The US Census Bureau reports also states that the Industry-wide employment in 2000 totaled 27,051 workers receiving a payroll of more than 896 million dollar. Within this workforce, 22,621 of these employees worked in production, putting in more than 46 million hours to earn wages of more than 678 million dollar. Overall shipments for the industry were valued at almost 3.9 billion dollar in 2001. And the numbers are growing. A very similar pattern is seen from the Chinese aluminum die casting manufacturing segment. The 500 factories in China proclaim a 58,000 work force dedicated in producing a variety of different aluminum die casting products. Since the die casting industry is skill intensive the salaries of the workers in the manufacturing units are comparitively higher than other manufacturing plants. The average aluminum die casting manufacturing machines alone is as big as regular sized homes in any part of the world. The weight and size of such gigantic machinery requires sufficient and well educated staff to monitor, maintain and expand such machineries.

Since the aluminum die casting industry is growing at such an exponential rate so is the vendor industry that is manufacturing the units for the aluminum die casting markets. Herman Doehler, founder of Doehler-Jarvis, developed the first die-casting machine around the turn of the twentieth century. It was in 1915 when the first commercially produced aluminum die-casting manufacturing machinery was shipped to the manufacturing plants. 1915- 1940 were the years in which the manufactures were able to gear up their features in the machinery and align their machineries with the business requirements. Extensive work and feedback from the manufacturing plants provided the turning point for the aluminum die casting machinery. The machines started becoming more user friendly as well as catering to the exponential demand from the market. During the same time span the aluminum die casting market grew at rates of more than 200 percent as compared to other manufacturing industries. In 1946, the U.S. Department of Commerce reported that aluminum die-casting production totaled 73 million pounds, representing about 16 percent of the total die-casting production for all metals that year.

During the years between 1915 and the late 1940’s, different materials were used to cater to the demands in the market. Zinc was a predominant component in the overall die casting market. It was not until the late 1960’s that aluminum surpassed the zinc die casting manufacturing requirements. Throughout the 1970s, aluminum production continued to expand dramatically, and, by 1988, aluminum die-casting production reached the 1.5 billion-pound mark. Ever since Aluminum surpassed zinc as a material to be used in the die casting industry, it never saw a substantial competitor in the market. Even as The die-casting industry entered the 1990s; aluminum remained in the top position. The primal reason behind the success of aluminum as an acceptable material in the die casting manufacturing industry was the various advantages of this material in the manufacturing plants. For example, aluminum die-castings weighed about 60 percent less than identical iron products, resisted corrosion, and were stronger than permanent mold or sand castings. Automated production methods produced high quantities at low per-unit costs. By the late 1990s, the automotive industry had discovered the benefits of aluminum and consequently became the largest market for aluminum castings, buying 25 percent of all aluminum produced and nearly one-half of all aluminum die castings produced.

With such a large global market, there are different aluminum die casting vendors in the market. Leading this industry in overall sales was ACX Technologies Inc. of Golden, Colorado with 1998 sales of over 988 million dollar on the strength of 5,600 workers. Another industry leader in terms of innovation is Doehler-Jarvis, inventors of the first die-casting machine.

For more information about Aluminum Die Casting Manufacturer visit: http://automobile.dmc.co.kr/eng/Aluminum-Die-Casting-Manufacturer.asp

DIY Metal Casting

Macie asked:


Every day in our lives we use die casting material but are completely oblivious to the process that is in place. Thousands of manufactures use this die casting to come up with daily items such as toys for children and even equipments that change our very method of working. Die casting has certainly provided the human race with a plethora of products that are incorporated into major appliances and automobile industry.

Conceptually, casting is a manufacturing process and requires articulate calculations to create the required outputs. This process injects liquid material into different moulds to solidify the mould. The amalgamation results in different fabricated parts. The primal benefit of casting process allows manufactures to create specific parts that are not economically feasible to create on the general assembly line. Million of parts that are made via die casting process could not have been achieved otherwise since the cost of producing certain items are not economical or even production possible. Any form of casting is a labor intensive process that requires a specific skill set. All processes from temperature building, quantity and quality of the liquid to be injected, form and shape of the mould, to the coolness technique of the output products all require specific skill sets. Without an accomplished team, it become very difficult for die casting manufactures to delivery quality products.

Die casting is a similar process in which molten metal is put under high pressure into the cavities of steel molds. The molds are called dies. The dies also come in different shapes and varieties in properties. Die casting process is heavily used in the automotive industry to create different body parts. Australia’s auto industry supports a large local die casting business, manufacturing parts that include cylinders, pistons and engine sumps etc. A very similar growing industry also flourishes in Korea as well since Korea is home to a large number of automotive manufactures. Die casting is one of the most efficient means of producing car parts since it is more feasible than the older versions of liquid casting and other strenuous techniques. Die casting has allowed for the substantial growth in mass production of automotives as well as parts for airplanes and trains as well.

Flourishing economies of scale also come with its price and challenges. Mergers and alliances are now a common practice in die casting manufacturing countries to streamline and hone processes to cater to the booming economy and mass productivity requirements. The die process entails four major steps that are required to be followed sequentially. The first step is to spray the mold with any form of lubricant and then close the mould. Different lubricants are used as per the requirement of the finished good. There are several benefits of using lubricant in the process. The lubricant both helps control the temperature of the die and it also assists in the removal of the casting. Effective lubricant can be the differentiator factor of average versus customer centric products. Molten metal is then injected into the die under high pressure. The high pressure assures a casting as precise and as smooth as the mold. This stage requires extreme caution in regarding to the pressure and checking of any defects in the mold. Once the cavity is filled then the pressure is maintained until the casting has become solid (though this period is usually made short as possible by water cooling the mold). There are also different ways of cooling the mold water cooling being one of them. It typically takes a lengthy amount of time to cool down the molds if left simply to nature. In order to expedite the end product, different cooling techniques are used. Finally, the die is opened and the casting is ejected. This is the entire process of the die casting procedures.

The clamping efficiency defines the quality of the machines that are used in the die casting manufacturing process. Typical sizes of the die casting machines range from 100 to 4,000 tons. Along with the massive weights also comes a gigantic size associated with the machines. Majority of the machines can be as large as regular home sizes in any city of the world. Irrespective of size, there are primarily two types of categories of die casting machinery. One is the hot chamber machines for zinc, magnesium and lower melting-point metals and the other is the cold chamber machines for aluminum (http://automobile.dmc.co.kr/eng/Aluminum-Die-Casting-Manufacturer.asp ) and higher melting-point metals. A die casting machine automatically opens and closes the mold and injects the liquid metal, all under high pressure and as rapidly as possible, in the case of zinc up to several hundred times an hour. This time line is also dependent upon the machinery features and the vendor. Extensive research and work has taken place to hone the die casting manufacturing machine features and make it more simple and cost effective both in terms of pricing and productivity. There are several key milestones that all die manufactures are looking anxiously to reduce. Time to produce the end product, minimize quantity of goods used in the entire process and enhance the overall skill set of individuals are all the key elements that need improvement. The anticipated reduction is approximately 30% – 40%, but the overall reduction is around 20% and that too in the human resource department. Engineers are now being trained on specialized avenues in die casting which helps in reducing the overall human resources required.

One of the ongoing challenges with die casting is detecting surface and sub surface defects within specific timelines. Defects and variances in the final products are still on the high end. Due to the high number of defects and variance, a large amount of raw material is lost and put forth as waste. Vendors have realized this gap in identifying the defects and variances during the process. Fully automatic machines are now being manufactured to cater to this ongoing challenge. A fully automatic fault detecting machine named CAST vision has been produced and a prototype process is in place for extended in-plant on-line trials. This is the third year of this project and it is giving good results. The result of algorithm which was designed and developed in 2nd year has been put to test now. By prototyping the CAST team had designed and developed a working system CAST vision. This can discriminate between good and defective parts.

Home Metal Casting

Groshan Fabiola asked:


Watch television, build a home, ride a bike—you have used a piece of equipment made with aluminum die casting. Aerospace and automotive, home appliance and builders, medical and music, consumer electronics and telecommunications are but a few types of worldwide clients of Del Mar Industries, DMI. Aluminum die casting affects the quality of everyone’s life. The highest standards possible are the hallmark of Del Mar Industries, a full service provider of value added castings and plating processes. DMI has built a reputation for ingenuity, responsiveness, and reliability.

Del Mar’s three operating divisions are certified to the latest ISO 9001:2000 quality standard, emphasizing customer focus, product quality, and continuous improvement. Del Mar Die Casting, a hot process company, specializes in casting zinc and magnesium alloys. Los Angeles Die Casting, a cold chamber process, specializes in aluminum castings utilizing a wide range of aluminum alloys with the capability of producing casting sizes from 1 square inch to a size of approximately 16” x 22”. Both DMDC and LADC offer a full range of secondary operations including the ability to provide different finishes, assembly operations, and specialized packaging. Gardena Plating Co. provides plating and coating processes utilizing barrel (bulk) production techniques and offers conversion coatings for both aluminum and zinc die castings, and the ability to provide various surface preparations and a variety of substrate processes and a wide range of finishing choices. Zinc castings can be the size of a dime to medium size castings with a footprint of about 12″ x 16″. Magnesium castings can vary in size up to a footprint of 12” x 16” as well. DMI has achieved the ISO 14000 certification, a rigid standard for environmental protection.

Their commitment to continuous quality improvement begins with advanced quality planning. Every job begins with an advanced quality plan formulated by an internal project team and consists of identifying key part and process parameters. An independent laboratory is employed to ensure the purity of the metal used in castings. Every part must pass a documented first piece and hourly in-process quality inspection performed by a team of inspectors using a full array of inspection tools. To be assured of the high quality results, look to Del Mar Industries to meet your demands.

Del Mar Industries is comprised of three operating divisions – Del Mar Die Casting Co.(Zinc Die Casting & Magnesium Die Casting), Los Angeles Die Casting Co. and Gardena Plating Co. To ensure that its customers receive the highest quality Die Casting possible all three divisions have been certified to the quality standards ISO 9001:2000.

Metal Casting