How Are
Aluminium Die Cast
Products Produced?
luminium die casting is
used for a wide variety of
applications, from door
knobs to an entire engine
block. Whilst many people
have heard of the term few are aware of
the processes involved.
A
Die casting was initially invented in 1838
for the printing industry and with the
growth of consumer products some
20 years later it became part of the
manufacturing process for many other
goods. Starting off with lead and tin,
the alloys used were then surpassed by
aluminium and zinc.
High-pressure die casting consists of four
different stages, die preparation, filling,
ejection and shakeout.
Firstly the mould cavity of the die is
cleaned and sprayed with lubricant, aiding
in the removal of the casting whilst also
maintaining the temperature of the die.
Once the two die halves are closed and
clamped together, high pressure molten
aluminium is transferred from the furnace
into a chamber and injected into the
die. This fills the mould cavity, which is
pressure controlled (typically from 1,000 to
20,000 psi) cooling rapidly until the casting
becomes solid. The injection time is usually
less than 0.1 seconds to inhibit any one
part of the alloy solidifying, although this
injection time can vary dependent on the
alloy used and the castings wall thickness
- the larger the wall thickness, the longer
the injection time.
Once the molten aluminium fills the
cavity and cools, the finished shape of the
casting is formed. The die halves can now
be opened and an ejection mechanism
pushes the casting out of its mould. The
force of the mechanism must be strong
enough to eject the part as it shrinks whilst
cooling and adheres to the die. Once
ejected any excess material is manually
trimmed from the casting, and this
unrequired material can then be reused.
The advantages of using aluminium in
die casting are that it has a very good
stiffness, superior corrosion resistance
when compared with other alloys, is strong
yet lightweight and has a high electrical
conductivity. It also possesses excellent
finishing characteristics and is fully
recyclable.
UK based Mark Aluminium Die Casting
(MADC) has been manufacturing cast
aluminium products for over 30 years. As
part of the Mark group it is established in
the manufacturing of water pumps for a
wide range of automotive manufactures,
including such established names as
Jaguar, Aston Martin and Land Rover.
MADC also specialises in the production
of heat sinks for LED lights and processors
and impact resistant electrical enclosures.
"Having our own on-site foundry is a big advantage in being able to manufacture various types of high pressure die cast products. This enables us to be
flexible in producing practically any type of small to large volume die cast product quickly and efficiently. We strongly believe in manufacturing a high
standard of finished product but also understand that it needs to be cost effective for our customers. To this end we are able to offer a variety of dies and
moulds to satisfy the largest range of price, precision and volume demands"
David Lewis Plant Manager of both Mark Aluminium Die Casting and
sister company Mark Water Pumps
www.mwpl.eu