The Importance of temperature in Die Casting
Heat and Temperature are very important factors in almost every aspect of fabrication and manufacturing. For processes like die casting, getting the temperature right from the start is one of the best ways to avoid defects in your product or prototype. Because of the nature of the die casting process, there are usually a number of questions – How hot should the metal get? Does the mold temperature matter? How do you run the perfect die-casting process?
It is also important to understand that the nature of the materials to be used in die casting and how too high or too low temperatures can affect the final output. In order to make the perfect die-cast project, heat, temperature, metal and die casting standards are all to be monitored
The role of temperature in the plastic injection die casting process
There is a direct relationship between temperature and factors such as yield and tensile strength. The higher the temperature, the lower the tensile and yield strengths. This is a very important factor to keep in mind if you’re looking to make parts with high tensile strength.
Another thing to look out for is the ductility. Ductility typically increases as temperature increases. However, these changes are also dependent on the nature of material (type of alloy) that is being used in the die-casting process.
Why you need to get it right
The temperature of the alloy itself, the temperature of the die casting machine and the die itself must be kept at the highest temperature range if you are to get optimum quality parts. If the temperature of the molten metal gets too high, you could damage your mold by causing premature heat checking on the mold steel. If the temperature of the mold is too cold, it could cause defects such in your product by dropping the temperature of the metal too quickly as it flows into the mold. Low temperatures can cause your casting surface to have misruns or higher porosity than usual.
Important considerations
Some external factors may affect the temperature of your die cast process. As a rule of thumb, you should perform your die casting operation in an energy-efficient and process-optimizing area. For the die cast process itself, you can avoid straining the mold by making sure that your alloy is some 50-70F above the initial crystallization temperature.
Try to keep the mold itself at around a third of whatever your alloy temperature is. Also ensure that your calculations for the casting chamber is properly computed by the casting engineer.
Material matters
Temperature has different effects on different materials. Zinc and Aluminium are two of the most popular die casting metals.
Aluminium is favoured for its durability, resistance to corrosion and durability. When working with Aluminium alloys, you can expect a tensile strength of 48 around 75F for Aluminium 380, as well as a yield strength of 24. When you increase temperatures to 212F, you should get up to 45KSI tensile strength while the yield strength remains constant. Aluminium 390 should have a yield strength range of 41-18KSI around 500 degrees.
Popular Zinc alloys like the Zamak 3, Zamak 5 or 7 can have an average of 40 KSI at 75F. When you increase your temperature to around 275 degrees, the average KSI could fall to as low as 10. This demonstrates that Zinc is more likely to decline in yield strength as the temperature increases.
First Part Die Casting Standards
First Part offers high quality die casting design and fabrication services for a wide range of materials and alloys. At First Part, we take factors such as heat and temperature in die casting very essential. Our experienced years come into play in every project we undertake by ensuring that all criteria and factors are kept at optimal condition for the highest quality output.
We have state of the art equipment and precision instruments that calibrate, calculate and maintain the temperature of the process. In addition, we have fine-tuned our die casting services to help us ensure that we perfect each phase of the process across the temperature and quality standards. When you order from First Part, we ensure that you can get high-quality parts with quick turnaround with excellence per inch.
Our engineers and experts are committed to the kind of quality that has made us first choice in China and will continue to deliver top-notch customer experience in working for all our clients across various industries. To find out more about our services and die casting process, CONTACT US www.firstpart.com
