Die Casting Tooling

There are many factors singular to the die casting process that are needed to be considered such as product strengths, draft angles, gate areas, material types, material flow, slide features, undercuts, wall thicknesses and material weights.

There are many identifiable variables in a die casting part.

* Manufacturers ID marks
* Cavity markings
* Ejector pin location
* Ejector pin diameters
* Ejector pin angles
* Ejector pin depths
* Overflow location and sizes
* Gates sizes and locations
* Tooling drag marks
* Part draft angles

Look here for some tooling images http://www.kineticdiecasting.com/tooling_die_casting.html

Contact Kinetic Die Casting Company at 818-982-9200 if you have technical questions regarding die castings. We will be happy to assist you for your product or application.

Where do you find Aluminum Speaker Parts? One of the most valuable elements found on earth that have found their ways as prime materials in the manufacturing industry is aluminum. Aluminum is a metallic element known for its good conducting properties, light weight size and durability. The use of aluminum can be seen in several important industries that include the manufacture of automobile parts, lighting devices, golf equipment, computer hardware and other things.

In the music industry, aluminum is used in the fabrication of several musical instruments and in audio speakers. There are several characteristics that make aluminum a desirable material for the manufacture of audio speaker and these include the factors of size, conductive properties, material durability, as well as material and production costs. Aluminum is very lightweight as it is one of the lightest elements that occur on the surface of the earth. Compared to steel, aluminum weighs only a fraction of third of the former. This property makes the manufacture and material transport easier and hence, cheaper. As aluminum is also one of the most abundant metallic elements found on earth, the material is inexpensive.

Where do you find Aluminum Speaker Parts

In the US, there are several manufacturing firms that fabricate speaker parts using aluminum. These firms are said to able to achieve cost effective productions, shorter production time and assist in fine tuning and design of the speakers. There are several ways on how to make aluminum speaker parts but the most popular process that has become a favorite among these US manufacturing firms is the die-casting method.

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.

Contact Kinetic Die Casting Company 818-982-9200 if you would like us to die cast your new product.

Cinema Products Corporation
3211 South La Cienega Boulevard
Los Angeles California 90016

Produced the waist mounted camera harness for the movie industry. We were contacted by Cinema Products to look at a revolutionary new aluminum locking mechanism for their product. There were 10 items that created the locking mechanism consisting of Pivots, Pawls and Locks for the left and right side of the harness. We made aluminum die casting tooling for them the cost was about $50,000.

The weight of the 10 parts was very light because of their material choice, but they ran into some issues that made 380 aluminum a poor choice for the alloy. Units were failing in the field. We discovered it was because of the limited impact strength of 380 aluminum of 3 foot pounds. We suggested another die casting material, #3 zinc alloy, which has an impact strength greater than 40 foot pounds.

Cinema Products believed they were stuck at an impasse to pay another $50,000 for zinc die casting tooling. Kinetic Die Casting was able to produce zinc parts using the aluminum die casting tooling, saving them several thousands of dollars.

If you had a die casting part failure in the past, contact Kinetic Die Casting Company for assistance 818-982-9200.

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.

Kinetic Die Casting Company uses H13 tool steel to make die casting molds. H13 tool steel, if used properly, will make a die casting mold that produces well over 100,000 parts before the die casting cavities fail.

Not all steels are the same. Steels are usually developed for a specific purpose. Different steels are stronger or more brittle than others. Steels have a greater or lesser amount of carbon and other materials. Some steels can be heat treated to a very great hardness. Some steels are pre-heat treated.

The most common steel used of die casting molds is called H13. This steel was developed to withstand the incredible temperature fluctuations required in the die casting process. H13 is usually heat treated to a Rockwell hardness that improves the quality of the cavities. Other types of steel age too rapidly or are too soft to make die casting tooling from them.

Some inexpensive mold makers try to save money on the steel used to make die casting tooling. When that happens, they save only a few hundred dollars but the mold will last only for a few thousand parts before the die begins to fail.

If you are ordering a die casting mold, be sure to specify H13 tool steel for the cavities or you will not get enough life from you die casting tools. Kinetic Die Casting Company only makes tools using H13 tool steel. We have made die casting molds that produced well over 500,000 parts before replacement.