From cost savings to longer product lifespan, zinc die casting can benefit your project in many ways.
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. Below are Zinc Alloys available for your casting needs.
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.
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 28 Hot-Chamber die cast machines ranging in size from 2X2, 4X4, 6X6, 8X8 & 80 Ton to meet your production requirements.
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Over 30 Machines ranging from multi-head tap machines to production lathes
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.
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 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.
Over the last 20 years, the U.S. has seen a structural supply chain shift in manufacturing, including the Zinc Die Casting industry. Huge amounts of products shifted from manufacturing on US shores to abroad; China being the main benefactor. Chinese manufacturers were able to offer lower prices for not only Zinc die castings, but also tooling, machining and assembly, resulting in lower purchasing costs for manufactured zinc products.
Today, as an industry, Cast Products have studied offshoring significantly to help determine how we can be competitive on this global stage. We have also recently seen how geopolitical risks are affecting this supply chain, from the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic to the war between Ukraine and Russia. Due to these factors, there is an ongoing movement to reshore manufacturing domestically, like the Zinc Die Casting industry.
A key factor in offshoring manufacturing is considering the true cost of purchasing from non-US sources. Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is a financial term used to help buyers and owners determine all the costs of a product, not just the purchase price. These additional costs may include:
• Goods damaged during transport
• Defects
• Travel costs
• Emergency Air Freight Costs
• Currency fluctuations
• Inventory carrying costs
• In addition, there are less quantifiable issues such as no credit terms, communication issues, inflation, etc.
Efforts have been made to show the difference in these costs, with the purchasing costs on average being only 77% of the true cost of offshoring products (Source: Reshoring Initiative).
Research has also been done on this subject specifically for Die Casting. Two reports entitled “China Has Lost Its Cost Advantage in Die Casting” parts 1 and 2 (Bill Downey), show summaries of surveys to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) which give insight as:
• Why the die casting industry left our shores
• Savings that were realized by going offshore
• The premium OEMs were willing to pay for US parts.
Using data trends and calculations (including rising inflation, transportation costs, etc), the report pointed out approximately when parts made in the U.S. would be competitive with Chinese parts. According to the report, that parity date occurred in 2012. When calculating the TCO, offshoring your Zinc die casting and tooling, isn’t a smart business move.
The improvements made in our Zinc die cast manufacturing facilities over the last 20 years, and our current capabilities and services can match or exceed the level received from off-shore sources. View our new technology in alloys, automation, and engineering to learn the advantages of Zinc Die Casting from US manufacturers like Cast Products.
Cast Products is your partner, and we look forward to the opportunities to provide you with superior Zinc Die Casting and Tooling services.
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