Zinc Die Casting alloys are tough, reliable engineering materials that are cost-effective and endure longer than other alloy options. The unique alloy combination provides rigidness, strength, and increased value to die cast products. Zinc alloy processing is very economical due to the low melting temperature and it’s ability to produce thousands, or even millions, of parts with one set of Zinc Die Casting tools.
There are a multitude of reasons that your business should choose Zinc Die Casting. From cost savings to longer product lifespan, it can benefit your project in a number of ways, check out a few listed below.
At Cast Products we cast a variety of different Zinc Alloys to meet your needs. Our complex blend of Zinc and other metals creates a low-cost, high-performing die-cast that will be ideal for your project and last for many years. Read more below about each of our Zinc Alloys available for our Zinc Die Casting products.
Zinc Alloys refer to any metal composed of at least two elements, with one being Zinc. These resulting metal alloys are more beneficial than just a singular metal. Zinc metal alloys are more uniform in nature and have improved physical, chemical, electrical, and corrosion-resistant properties. For these reasons, Zinc alloys stand out as a preferred choice in metal alloys available for Die Casting projects.
Zamak 2, a predecessor of the more widely used Zamak 3, has the highest strength and hardness in the zinc-4% aluminum (Zamak) alloy family. Because of its relatively high copper content (3%), it is about 25% stronger, as cast, than Zamak 3, and almost 10% stronger than Zamak 5, with higher hardness than either. The high copper content, however, results in property changes upon long term aging. These changes include slight dimensional growth (.0014in/in after 20yrs), lower elongation and reduced impact performance (to levels similar to aluminum alloys) for die cast products. It does, however, provide some interesting characteristics which may assist designers. Its creep performance is rated higher than the other Zamaks and Zamak 2 maintains higher tensile strength and hardness levels after long term aging. Also, preliminary investigations suggest Zamak 2 is a good bearing material and may eliminate bushings and wear inserts in die cast designs. But it does give up impact strength and because of this limitation, Zamak 2 is used only when the strength or hardness of Zamak 3 or 5 are not sufficient for long term end use. Zamak 2 is sometimes referred to as Kirksite and is the only alloy which is used for gravity casting; mainly for metal forming dies or plastic injection tools.
Of all the zinc casting alloys, Zamak 3 is the most widely used, accounting for approx. 85% of all zinc casting tonnage. Its superb physical and mechanical properties, excellent castability and long term dimensional stability provide the basis for its broad usage. The ease with which it can be electroplated adds to the popularity of this alloy, with excellent finishing characteristics for plating, painting and chromate treatments. It is the “standard” by which other zinc alloys are rated in terms of die casting and is, therefore, the most widely available alloy from die casting sources.
Most often, through casting design procedures, a Zamak 3 pressure die casting can be made to meet service or functional requirements. When this is not the case, especially where strength is concerned, Zamak 5 is the logical choice. Except for a nominal 1% copper addition, the chemistry of Zamak 5 is comparable to that of Zamak 3. This composition modification results in higher tensile strength and increased hardness, but with a sacrifice in elongation. Zamak 5 also has significantly better creep resistance than the other alloys in the conventional group. Zamak 5 is not as ductile as some of the other alloys, a factor to consider when post casting operations such as secondary bending, riveting, swaging or crimping are required. Because of Zamak 3’s wide availability, material specifiers often strengthen components by design modification instead of using Zamak 5. However, when an extra measure of tensile performance is needed, Zamak 5 castings are recommended. The alloy is readily plated, finished and machined, comparable to Zamak 3.
Of all the zinc alloys that can be cast in hot-chamber machines, ZA-8 is the most creep resistant (three times that of Zamak 3) and is the strongest and hardest, with the exception of Zamak 2, which is very similar in performance. It is used principally in structural or highly stressed applications. In spite of its relatively high aluminum content, it can be electroplated using conventional plating techniques and finished using standard procedures for Zamaks. When the performance of standard Zamak 3 or Zamak 5 is in question, ZA-8 is often the die casting choice because of high strength and creep properties and efficient hot chamber castability.
Do you have any questions regarding materials, our process, or would you like for us to quote out your casting needs?
Since 1966, Cast Products, Inc. has been a North American leader in design and full- scale manufacturing of precision zinc die cast components. Although the majority of our current production utilizes the Multi-Slide die casting process, we are equally strong in the manufacture of larger, Conventional Hot-Chamber die casting parts. We have 30 Hot-Chamber die cast machines ranging in size from 2X2, 4X4, 6X6, 8X8 & 80 Ton to meet your production requirements.
Over 50 Machines ranging from multi-head tap machines to production lathes
Why should you choose Zinc Die Casting for your next project?
There are several reasons why Zinc Die Casting is often chosen for die cast projects. That’s because it is one of the more versatile die cast metals available. With Zinc Die Casting you can achieve higher precision, casting to net-shape, with reduced tooling costs in comparison to other common die cast metals like aluminum or magnesium. Using Zinc Die Casting gives products a wide range of preferred physical and mechanical properties, along with superior finishing characteristics, while being the most economical alloy to cast.
Today, choosing Zinc Die Casting can reduce your overall project costs. Zinc has a low melting temperature which equates to less energy usage in processing. Zinc alloy properties also make them less aggressive on tooling which means dies last up to 10 times longer than aluminum, and up to 5 times longer than a die with magnesium. Longer lifespans of production tooling mean fewer repairs, less downtime, and greater part production. Greater efficiency with a lower capital investment.
Zinc Die Casting is ideal for projects within the building, industrial, electronic, recreational, and automotive industries. Zinc Die Casting alloys are tough, reliable engineering materials that are cost-effective and endure longer than other alloy options. The unique alloy combination provides rigidness, strength, and increased value to die cast products. Zinc alloy processing is very economical, and environmentally friendly providing users the ability to produce millions of parts with one set of tools. Contact us for more information on what Zinc can do for you.
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