Zinc Casting Metals

High strength and exceptional hardness make zinc the ideal alternative to machined, pressed, stamped and fabricated components.

Zinc alloy characteristics:

• High strength and hardness
• Excellent electrical conductivity
• High thermal conductivity
• Low cost raw material
• High dimensional accuracy and stability
• Excellent thin wall capability
• Ability to cold form, which eases joining
• High quality finishing characteristics
• Outstanding corrosion resistance
• Full recyclability

Zinc’s high strength and hardness lends itself to many solutions and it’s the ideal alternative to machined, pressed, stamped, and fabricated components.

Applications for Zinc:

• Complex net-shaped zinc housings, with precise thin walls offer excellent electrical performance and shielding properties
• Our proprietary multi-slide die casting process and superior thin-wall capabilities make us the foremost supplier of zinc components for broad range of consumer electronic devices
• The cast ability of zinc, its wear resistance, and structural integrity make it perfect for the creation of the multi-faceted, highly complex shapes used in automotive safety and electronics industry

Available zinc alloys:

• Zamak 2

Zinc Alloy 2, also known as Kirksite or Zamak 2 (ASTM AC43A), is the highest strength and hardness of the Zamak family. 

• Zamak 3

Zamak 3 (ASTM AG40A), or Zinc Alloy 3, is the most widely used zinc alloy in North America and is usually the first choice when considering zinc for die casting for a number of reasons.

• Zamak 5

Zamak 5 (ASTM AC41A) or Zinc Alloy 5, is the most widely used zinc alloy in Europe.

• Zamak 7

Zamak 7 (ASTM AG40B), or Zinc Alloy 7, is a modification of Zamak 3. It is a high-purity alloy containing lower magnesium content and has a tighter impurities specification. This results in improved casting fluidity, ductility and surface finish.

• ZA 8

ZA-8, or zinc aluminum alloy, contains significantly more aluminum than the Zamak group of alloys. ZA-8 contains approximately 8.4% aluminum and is the only ZA alloy that can be hot-chamber die cast, an important consideration when selecting a material for a component. 

• ZA 27 - Zinc Aluminum

ZA-27, or zinc aluminum alloy, contains significantly more aluminum than the Zamak group of alloys. The number 27 represents the approximate percentage of aluminum.

• ACuZinc5

This is an alloy researched and developed by General Motors.

• EZAC

EZAC is a hot-chamber zinc die casting alloy with superior creep resistance, high yield strength, and high hardness.

• Zinc Creep

Zinc creep is the time-dependent strain that takes place under a given load.

ALUMINUM CASTING METALS

Aluminum castings are lightweight and able to withstand the highest operating temperatures of all die cast alloys.

Aluminum Alloy Characteristics:

• High operating temperatures
• Outstanding corrosion resistance
• Lightweight
• Very good strength and hardness
• Good stiffness and strength-to-weight ratio
• Excellent EMI and RFI shielding properties
• Excellent thermal conductivity
• High electrical conductivity
• Good finishing characteristics
• Full recyclability

Aluminum’s strength, corrosion resistance, and heat dissipating properties offer mechanical designers’ significant advantages. Thin Wall Aluminum Technology has made aluminum die casting an option for even more applications.

Advantages of Aluminum Die Casting

One of the most significant benefits of aluminum die casting is that it creates lighter parts—with more surface finishing options than other die cast alloys. Aluminum can also withstand the highest operating temperatures of all the die cast alloys. Moreover, cast aluminum is versatile, corrosion resistant; it retains high dimensional stability with thin walls and can be used in almost any industry.

Aluminum Die Casting Applications: 

• Aluminum castings improve automotive fuel efficiency by contributing to weight saving requirements
• Because of aluminum’s excellent electrical performance and shielding properties, even in high-temperature environments, die cast aluminum is ideal for electronic connectors and housings
• Aluminum is used in a broad range of networking and infrastructure equipment in the telecom and computing industries because RF filter boxes and housings require heat dissipation
• In handheld devices, aluminum castings provide EMI/RFI shielding, rigidity, and durability with minimal weight

Recycling Aluminum Die Castings

Did you know that over 95 percent of aluminum castings made in North America and Europe are made of post-consumer recycled aluminum?

There is very little functional difference between primary (extracted or pure) and secondary (recycled) aluminum when it refers to die casting. Secondary aluminum alloys are derived from mixing and melting pure aluminum with other materials such as magnesium, iron, and copper. The use of pure aluminum in casting is quite rare due to the cost of extraction. The ease of use in die casting combined with lighter weight and durability make aluminum alloys a top choice for designers from nearly any industry. 

Secondary aluminum is more economical to produce than primary aluminum because it only requires 5 percent as much energy to produce. Most of the energy consumption in aluminum die casting is used to heat and re-melt the metal during fabrication. For this reason, we develepped our ECO-Furnace to save more time, energy, and money by re-melting scrap in-house.

Aluminum Alloys available:

• Aluminum Alloy A380

A380 is one of the most commonly specified aluminum alloys with a number of significant benefits

• Aluminum Alloy 383

If your component is highly intricate, 383 is often used as an alternative to A380. 

• B390

B390 is an aluminum alloy with high hardness and good wear resistance. 

• A413

A413 is an aluminum alloy with excellent pressure tightness. 

• 413

413 is an Aluminum based alloy that is used for die casting parts. 

• K-Alloy

K-Alloy is an aluminum, cold-chamber die cast alloy that was engineered to protect components against harsh operating environments. 

• A360

A360 is an aluminum alloy with excellent pressure tightness and fluidity. 

• DCA1

DCA1 is ideal for components such as cases or heatsinks that require high thermal and electrical conductivity, as well as corrosion resistance. 

MAGNESIUM CASTING METALS

Magnesium is strong, rigid, fully recyclable, and is the ideal alloy for saving weight when you don’t want to sacrifice durability.

Advantages of Magnesium Die Castings

There are many benefits to casting with magnesium. Not only is magnesium the lightest of all the structured materials but it has excellent stiffness and strength-to-weight ratios. Additionally, it has outstanding EMI and RFI shielding properties, perfect for connectors and electrical housings. It is also utilized for medical and laboratory equipment to provide protection against other interfering signals in a hospital room.

Did you know, magnesium is very cost-effective compared with many engineered thermoplastic materials? 

Other benefits of magnesium die castings include:

• High conductivity; electrical, and thermal
• Withstands high operating temperatures
• High dimensional accuracy and stability
• Exceptional thin wall capability
• Good environmental corrosion resistance
• Good finishing characteristics
• Full recyclability

Available Magnesium Alloys

• AZ91D

  Alloy AZ91D is the most widely used magnesium die cast alloy and has an excellent combination of mechanical properties, corrosion resistance, and castability.

Magnesium Die Casting Applications

Almost as light-weight as plastic, magnesium has the advantage of greater strength and rigidity along with inherent EMI/RFI shielding, durability, heat-dissipation, and full recyclability.