Zinc Die Casting

Zinc Die Casting is an efficient, economical process which, when used to its maximum potential, replaces assemblies of a variety of parts produced by various manufacturing processes at significant savings in cost and labor.

Zinc die casting alloys are versatile engineering materials. No other alloy system provides the combination of strength, toughness, rigidity, bearing performance and economical ‘castability’. Listed are zinc alloy attributes, which can reduce component costs. Improving precision, quality and product performance are other zinc alloy design advantages.

ZINC DIE CASTING ADVANTAGES

Precision Tolerances
Zinc die casting alloys are castable to closer tolerances than other metals or molded plastics, therefore presenting the opportunity to reduce or eliminate machining. “Net Shape” or “Zero Machining” manufacturing is a major advantage of zinc die casting.

Strength and Ductility
Zinc die casting alloys offer high strengths and superior elongation for strong designs and formability for bending, crimping and riveting operations.

Toughness
Few materials provide the strength and toughness of zinc alloys. Impact resistance is significantly higher than cast aluminum alloys, plastics and grey cast iron.

Rigidity
Zinc alloys are rigid engineering materials. Their elastic moduli are greater than those of aluminum and magnesium alloys and an order of magnitude greater than those of engineering plastics. This, combined with their high strength allows the volume of individual castings to be markedly reduced, saving space and weight.

Anti-Sparking
Zinc die cast alloys are non-sparking and suitable for hazardous location applications such as coal mines, tankers and refineries.

Bearing Properties
Bushing and wear inserts in component designs can often be eliminated because of zinc’s excellent bearing properties. For example, zinc alloys have outperformed bronze in heavy- duty industrial applications.

Easy Finishing
Zinc castings are readily polished, plated, painted or chromated for decorative and/or functional service.

Thin Wall Castability
Exceptional casting fluidity is displayed by all ZAMAC alloys, which provides superior thin-wall castability. Wall thicknesses of .025 inches (.65mm) for die casting are produced. This thin-wall capability results in smaller, lighter, low cost components.

Machinability
Fast, trouble-free machining characteristics of zinc materials minimize tool wear and machining costs.

Low Energy Costs
Because of their low melting temperature, zinc alloys require less energy to melt and cast versus other engineering alloys.

Long Tool Life
Low casting temperatures result in minimal thermal shock and therefore extended life for die casting tools. For example, tooling life can be more than 10 times that of aluminum dies.

Clean and Recyclable
Zinc die cast alloys are among the cleanest melting materials available. Zinc metal is non-toxic and scrap items are a reusable resource, which are efficiently recycled.