Kinetic Die Casting Blog

Beginnings of Die Casting. Die casting was invented by Elisha K. Root in the 1830s. She was an inventor in the employ of Samuel W. Collins’ ax-making company in Canton, Connecticut.

As early mid-1800, the first examples of die casting occurred. In 1849, a patent was awarded for the first manually operated machine for casting printing type. Development of other shaped began toward the end of the century. In the early 1900s, mass production of parts of phonographs and cash registers began.

The first alloys used in die casting molds were compositions of tin and lead. Their use decreased when zinc and aluminum alloys were introduced in 1914. This was soon followed by magnesium and copper, and by the 1930s, more modern alloys were introduced.

The process of die casting developed from low-pressure injection to high-pressure die castings. These modern processes, squeeze casting and semi-sailed die casting, produce high integrity castings.

Developments in the refinements of alloy as well as the process of die casting continued. Die casters now produce castings in many sizes and shapes. These castings are also durable and dimensionally precise.

Die castings is one of the mass-produced items in metalworking. Die casting parts are found in consumer, commercial and industrial products. They are one of the biggest volume items produced by the metalworking industry.

Dies, or die cast tooling, die cast tools and die casting molds have efficient styles, sizes and values. They come in single cavities or multiple cavities. Some die cast tools cost a few hundred dollars for trim dies. Cavity inserts cost a few thousand dollars while a complete die cast tool package costs several thousand dollars.

Magnesium Compared to Zinc – Die Casting Characteristics. Die casting has been getting lots of attention lately for its overall usefulness to the manufacturing process. How much it lessens production costs and production time has been proven to be very significant.

However, the metal being used for the die casting process has always been under debate. Both magnesium and zinc have their own properties which make manufacturers choose one over the other. Magnesium compared to zinc – what does one have as an advantage over the other?

Zinc is agreed upon by manufacturers as the easiest alloy to cast because it has very high ductility. Molten zinc can easily be stretched and shaped into the molds used for die casting. Zinc also has high impact strength, for die casts which need a lot of pounding and shaping to form.

Magnesium, on the other hand, is the easiest alloy to machine. After the die casting process, once the mold has done its job, machining is required for the finer details, and this is where magnesium shines because of its softness to machine over zinc. It is also much lighter than zinc, which is very important in the current trends of industry where lighter is better.

On paper, magnesium compared to zinc looks like a better metal to use in die casting. However, it is still of course up to the manufacturer which alloy to use for the process.

Aluminum Die Casting Everywhere. Aluminum is turning out to be one of the most important metals in this age of modern industry. It has a lot of uses. One of them is as material for die casting parts. A cursory inventory will show us aluminum castings in a wide range of industries, from the automotive industry, the communications industry, the aircraft manufacturing industry, the computer industry, the consumer electronics industry, and the communications industry. A more detailed catalog of aluminum castings to be found around us would include lights and streetlamp housing, lawnmower gear, instrument cases, electronic gadget cases, cooking utensils, automotive parts, airplane parts, outboard motor, aluminum lighting parts.

Aluminum and metal castings in general can be produced by the processes of plaster casting, continuous casting, investment casting, sand casting, permanent mold casting, and die casting. The versatility of aluminum makes this material suitable for all of the metal processing methods mentioned here, but the die cast method is the most common method for aluminum castings. The die casting process entails the melting of the metal, then injecting it into a die cast mold, but not before applying a separating medium on the mold, then cooling the molten metal to harden it. Once it hardens, it takes the shape of the die mold. Next is the process of extracting the product from the mold. The whole thing from start to finish might take only a few seconds on a die tooling machine. The whole process is then repeated on and on. This is how the world is being supplied with aluminum die castings.

Die Casting Methods and Applications. To produce die casting for specific applications, the following variations on the basic process can be used. “Squeeze casting” is a method that yields high quality, dense, and heat treatable components. In this method, molten alloy is cast without turbulence and gas entrapment at high pressure. Another procedure is the “semi-solid molding”. Semi-solid metal billets are cast to give dense, heat-treatable castings with low porosity.

Sophisticated methods to automate the die casting process are used by modern die casters. These methods provide continuous quality control. Automated systems are used to lubricate dies or die casting tools and die casting molds. These systems are also used to ladle metal into cold chamber machines, and integrate other functions like quenching and trimming castings.

Microprocessors obtain metal velocity. They shot rod position and hydraulic pressure and other data. These data are used to adjust die casting machine process. This is to assure consistent castings shot after shot. These process control systems also collect machine performance data. These data are for statistical analysis in quality control.

One of the fastest and most cost-effective methods for producing a wide range of components is die-casting. To be able to maximize benefits from their process, it is important for the designers to coordinate with the die caster during the early part of product design and development. This way, issues affecting die cast tooling and production are resolved, while identifying trade-offs affecting overall costs.

For more information on die casting designs, there are a lot of websites in the internet that may help get insights and details. You may also find online various die casting companies that may help you with your die casting requirements.

Consumer Parts Die Castings – Fast and Easy. Die casting has proven to be a very efficient and effective process in creating different kinds of parts made from different kinds of metals and alloys. A prominent metal used in this die casting process is aluminum. This metal is often used in Consumer Parts Die Castings as more and more industries see the value of using aluminum. Other metals used are zinc and copper. Sometimes, even non metal materials are used such as rubber, plasters, resin and concrete. Whatever the purpose may be, Consumer Parts Die Castings is essential to several markets in industries around the nation, and all over the globe for that matter.

To start the process of die casting, the metal or material is first melted into liquid. This is so that the material can easily be poured into the molds which have been pre-made. The molds will give the metal its new shape and size. After the liquefied metal is injected into the mold, it will be allowed to cool. Once the mold has significantly cooled down, the material inside will then turn back to its original solid form, it will then be opened and a few finishing touches is all that is required to finish the product.

Consumer Parts Die Castings allow for consistency in the results of the product. It is a fast, easy, reliable and cheap process to undertake in making bulk orders of parts and other products which is why manufacturers all over the world prefer to use this method compared to other processes.