The Advantages of Aluminum Chassis Castings Over Plastic. The use of aluminum chassis castings have increasingly become popular in recent years, particularly in the automobile industry, due to growing pressure to decrease vehicle weight to cut fuel consumption. While both aluminum and plastic are easy to produce, an aluminum chassis can dissipate heat better than a plastic one, thus preventing cars from overheating. Also, aluminum keeps its shape better even in severe weather conditions.

In karting, two of the materials normally used in the construction of the belly pan or chassis of a cart are plastic and aluminum. Both plastic and aluminum chassis castings are lightweight, but plastic is the more inexpensive option. However, the advantages of using aluminum chassis castings far outweigh those of plastic, which has a lot of disadvantages. Compared to aluminum, plastic is not usually thin enough for countersinking to make the fasteners flush. Plastic also has a tendency to discolor and swell when it comes in contact with fuels, oils, and grease. When exposed to warm temperatures, plastic expands and becomes wavy or starts buckling, which results in a wavy belly pan surface. Cold temperatures, on the other hand, cause some types of plastic to become brittle and eventually shatter. Aluminum chassis castings, while being expensive, does not encounter the aforementioned problems that plastic has. Additionally, the biggest advantage of aluminum is that is can be dimpled so that it can give a countersink in thin metal, and this enables the use of flat head screws. The end result is a perfectly smooth belly pan.

To get a price for aluminum die casting parts or die casting tooling, call toll free 800-524-8083 and ask for sales. Or email us at sales@kineticdc.com for a fast response on a price quote.

Kinetic Die Casting Makes Aluminum Handle Hardware. Handle hardware refers to door and cabinet handles, which need to be able to withstand constant pushes and pulls. When it comes to handle hardware, aluminum is one of the best materials to use when manufacturing handles. Aluminum is strong, durable, and sturdy, and is perfect for ensuring that handle hardware will last despite long-term abuse. Additionally, aluminum is lightweight and cheap, so buying and installing aluminum handle hardware does not burn a hole in customers’ pockets.

Die casting is the best and most reliable method to quickly produce aluminum handle hardware in large quantities. The method involves creating a cast or a mold first to resemble the shape of the handle to be produced. Afterwards, the aluminum is subjected to intense heat so that it becomes liquid. The liquefied metal is then injected into the cast or mold for the aluminum to take the mold’s shape. The mold with the aluminum is then cooled to let the liquid metal set and harden into the new shape. When the aluminum has hardened, the mold is then opened to reveal new aluminum handles. In North Hollywood, California, there is a company called the Kinetic Die Casting Company that specializes in various die-cast parts and products, such as automotive parts, enclosures and housings, aluminum lighting fixtures, and aluminum handle hardware. The company’s website not only showcases its products but also has pages that explain what aluminum handle hardware parts are, what the advantages are of using aluminum for handles, and how to choose the right handle hardware.

To get a price for aluminum die casting parts or die casting tooling, call toll free 800-524-8083 and ask for sales. Or email us at sales@kineticdc.com for a fast response on a price quote.

Kinetic Die Casting Company makes die casting parts from die casting molds that other die casting companies will not use. If you have a tool that “needs” replacement, call us and we can make your old die casting tool work in our die casting machines.

In 1995, a medical device manufacturing engineer brought over a die casting mold that he made overseas. He had saved over $20,000 making this tool overseas instead of a local die casting company. He had taken this mold to several other die casting companies to get a price for production parts. The tool was made of a material that was not tool steel. The material was soft. The size of the mold was half the size it should have been to produce the parts. The mold had slides that were “pinned” together with soft wire pins. And the mold base was damaged.

I took the die casting mold to a local die casting competitor, who I knew had experience running these types of jobs. He told me he would not touch the job because it would more likely be problems than rewards. He suggested I send the tool back to the customer and say “thanks but, no thanks”.

I decided to try to run this job because I did not really know what to expect. I was surprised at how many problems could occur. Every time a part stuck in the die, the cavity could be damaged by our die casting machine operator from using hardened removal tools. The mold base being under sized caused thermal transfer problems. The slides pulled apart because they stuck in the casting. The gate and runner system washed out because the steel was too soft to maintain the gates. The thermal problems and the gate washout caused porosity in the castings.

Over the years I have re-welded the parting line with H13 tool steel to harden the surfaces. I have replaced the wire pins that were used to hold the slides in the mold with hard steel pins. I have replaced or rather installed pins and bushings in the mold base. I have re-gated the tool three or four times. While making over 30,000 parts on this die casting mold, I have learned several valuable lessons.

Over the past 15 years, Kinetic Die Casting Company has taken on several more of these “problem die casting tool jobs”. I am happy to say that these jobs are only a challenge to my people. All I can say is if you have a difficult die casting mold or die casting tool, bring it to us for great quality parts.

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.