Pick Your Properties
Many die casting suppliers will customize their alloys to suit a designer’s specific application.
North American Die Casting Association, Wheeling, Ill.
the exact characteristics needed for a specific die cast part. Along with other methods, such as collaborative engineering and rapid tooling, custom alloys can help solve design problems and create opportunities for other die cast products. Die casters have the ability to make
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custom alloys because they can change the mixture of elements in their melts for different batches. By customizing an alloy, die casters can deliver a variety of benefits to their customers,
n order to strike a bal- ance between performance, price and product innovation, many die casters offer custom aluminum alloys that exhibit
including increased strength, better corrosion resistance, increased wear resistance or improved thermal con- ductivity. Alloys also can be modified to affect the casting characteristics of the metal, improving production effi- ciency, or reduce the price of the alloy compared to standard compositions. Several research studies have iden-
tified various characteristics of spe- cialized aluminum die casting alloys. The studies were funded by the U.S. Department of Energy through the Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) and the Cast Metals Coalition (CMC) and by the U.S. Department of Defense through the American Metalcasting Consortium (AMC).
Custom Alloy Examples Aluminum casting alloys can be
modified by changing the percent- ages of 10 alloying elements that are used in addition to aluminum. These elements are: • Silicon • Chromium • Copper • Zinc • Iron
• Manganese • Nickel • Titanium • Magnesium • Strontium One die caster recently used a cus- tom aluminum alloy to solve a design
This fan housing was produced in Ther- malloy, an aluminum alloy with signifi- cantly higher conductivity than other die casting alloys.
Alloys other than aluminum can be customized, as well. These bases for patio awning lift handles were die cast in ACuZinc 5, a zinc alloy with added copper for improved wear resistance and creep properties.
42 Metal Casting Design anD PurChasing MarCh/aPril 2010
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