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DIE CASTING

CONSTRUCTION

Die casting involves the preparation of components by injecting molten metal

at high pressure into metallic die. It is closely related to permanent mould
casting.
Because of the high pressure involved in die casting, it is also called as
pressure die casting. Further any narrow sections, complex shapes and fine
surface details can be easily produced.
In die casting, die contains two parts. One is the stationary half or cover die
which is fixed to the die casting machine. The second part is the moving half
or ejector die which is moved out for the extraction of the casting.
The casting cycle starts when the two parts of the die are apart. The lubricant
is sprayed on the die cavity so that casting does not stick in the die. The two
die halves are closed and clamped.
The required amount of the metal is injected into the die. The die casting die
needs to have the provision of the ejector to push the casting after it is
solidified. It will also have cooling channels to extract the heat of the molten
metal to maintain proper die temperature.

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CROSS SECTION OF A DIE CASTING DIE FOR

COLD CHAMBER DIE CASTING PROCESS

DIE CASTING DIES

The die casting die consists of two parts, a cover die which is fixed on
the stationary platen of the die casting machine and ejector die which is
fixed on the moving platen.
The cover die consists of the sprue, runner and gates and is also in
contact with the nozzle of the gooseneck in case of hot chamber and
shot chamber in case of cold chamber process. The ejector pins move
through the moving die to free the casting from the ejector die. The
number and positions of ejector pins should be such that casting is
removed without any distortions and visible marks.
The cores used are all metallic and are of two types. The fixed cores are
the ones which are fixed to the die halves. These are parallel to the die
movement. The moving cores have to be removed before the casting is
ejected from the die.
Overflows are provided in the parting plane for the first metal which is
normally cold, entering in the die cavity, to solidify. The overflow should
ideally be avoided in the design of a die. However overflows can be
utilized for compensating cold shuts and positioning of ejector pins.

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The cycle time in the die casting is very small, the dies therefore get very
heated up. The temperature is generally very high in the sections such as
sprue or heavy sections of the castings. Therefore to maintain uniform and
requisite temperature, water is circulated through the identified hot
regions of the die.
Hot working tool steels are normally used in the preparation of the dies, die
inserts and cores. For zinc alloys, the normal die material is AISI P20 for low
volume and H13 for high volume. For aluminium and magnesium, H13 and
H11 are used. The usual die materials for copper alloys are H20, H21 and
H22.
Some excess metal may be forced into the parting plane and is termed as
flash. Before using the castings, the flash together with any overflow
present in the casting is to be removed. The trimming of the flash is either
done manually or in trimming dies.

HOT CHAMBER PROCESS

The hot chamber process is used for low melting temperature alloys like zinc, lead
and tin. In a typical hot chamber die casting machine, gooseneck is used for
pumping the liquid metal into the die cavity. The gooseneck is submerged in the
holding furnace containing the molten metal. It is made of grey alloy or ductile iron
or cast steel.
A plunger made of alloy cast iron is hydraulically operated, moving up in the
gooseneck to uncover the entry port for the liquid metal into the gooseneck. The
plunger can then develop the necessary pressure for forcing the metal into the die
cavity. A nozzle at the end of the gooseneck is kept in close contact with the sprue
located in the cover die.
The operating sequence of the hot chamber process starts with the closing of the
die, when the plunger is in the highest position in the gooseneck, thus felicitating
the filling of the gooseneck by the liquid metal.
The plunger then starts moving down to force the metal in the gooseneck to be
injected into the die cavity. The metal is then held at the same pressure till it is
solidified. The die is opened and any present core is also retracted.
The plunger then moves back returning the unused liquid metal in the gooseneck.
The casting which is in the ejector die is now ejected and at the same time the
plunger uncovers the filling hole, again starting the cycle.

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SCHEMATIC OF HOT CHAMBER DIE

CASTING MACHINE

OPERATION SEQUENCE OF HOT

CHAMBER DIE CASTING PROCESS

COLD CHAMBER PROCESS

For materials like aluminium and brass, their high melting temperatures make it difficult to
cast them by hot chamber process. These materials are casted by cold chamber process.
In cold chamber process, the molten metal is poured with the ladle into the slot chamber
for every shot. This process reduces the contact time between the liquid metal and the shot
chamber.
The operation starts with the spraying of the die lubricants throughout the die cavity and
the closing of the die when molten metal is ladled into the shot chamber. This is either done
manually or by auto ladle.
An auto ladle is a form of a robotic device which automatically scoops up the molten
aluminium from the holding furnace and pours into the die at the exact instant required in
the casting cycle.
The metal volume and pouring temperature can be precisely controlled with an auto ladle
and hence the desired casting quality can be had.
The plunger then forces the metal into the die cavity and maintains the pressure till it
solidifies. Then the die opens, casting is ejected and at the same time, plunger returns to
the original position completing the operation.
The main disadvantage of cold chamber process is the longer cycle time as compared to hot
chamber process. Further during loading of molten metal, it may lose super heat and
develop defects like cold shuts.

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OPERATION SEQUENCE OF COLD CHAMBER DIE CASTING PROCESS

ADVANTAGES OF DIE CASTING

Because of the use of the movable cores, it is possible to obtain fairly
complex castings.
Very small thickness can be easily filled because the liquid metal is
injected at high pressure.
Very high production rates can be achieved.
Because of the metallic dies, very good surface finish of the order of 1
micron can be achieved.
Closer dimensional tolerances of the order of +0.08 mm for small
dimensions can be obtained.
The die has very long life which is of the order of 3,00,000 pieces for
zinc alloy and 1,50,000 for aluminium alloy.
Die casting gives better mechanical properties compared to sand
casting due to the formation of fine grained skin during solidification.
It is very economical for large scale productions.
Inserts can be readily cast in place.

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DISADVANTAGES OF DIE CASTING

The maximum size of the casting is limited to normal sizes of less than 4 Kg
because of the limitations on the machine capacity.
It is not suitable for all materials because of the limitations on the die materials.
Normally zinc, aluminium, magnesium and copper alloys are die casted.
The air inside the die cavity gets trapped inside the casting and therefore is a
problem with the die casting.
The dies and the machines are very expensive and therefore economy in
production is possible only when large quantities are produced.

APPLICATIONS OF DIE CASTING

Carburetors, crank cases, magnetos, handle bar housings, parts of scooters,
motor cycles and mopeds, zip fasteners, head lamp bezels, decorative items on
automobile.

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