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Zinc Pressure Die Casting - A High-Quality Manufacturing Process
Zinc pressure die casting is an efficient manufacturing process used to produce complex, high-quality metal components. This process involves forcing molten zinc alloy into reusable steel molds under high pressure. The end products have excellent dimensional accuracy, a smooth surface finish, and high strength. Zinc pressure die casting is ideal for making parts with thin walls, complex shapes, and internal features.
Some key benefits of zinc pressure die casting:
- Tight Tolerances - Parts can be produced to precise specifications with very tight tolerances of ±0.005 inches (±0.127 mm) per inch. This allows for consistency in dimensions between parts in a production run.
- Excellent Mechanical Properties - Zinc pressure die cast parts have high tensile strength, hardness, and impact resistance compared to other die casting alloys like aluminum. The high-velocity injection under pressure improves mechanical properties.
- Complex Geometries - Intricate shapes, fine details, and thin walls down to 0.80 mm thickness can be easily replicated from the mold. Parts can be designed with angled surfaces, holes, bosses, and other complex elements.
- Smooth Finishes - The metal molds create smooth surface finishes, reducing the need for secondary machining and polishing. Decorative chrome-plated finishes can also be applied.
- Fast Production - Zinc alloy solidifies rapidly in the die, allowing high production rates. Parts can be cast in seconds and require minimal finishing. This results in lower costs per part.
Zinc alloys commonly used for die casting include Zamak alloys 3, 5, and 7. They contain zinc along with varying amounts of aluminum, magnesium, and copper. Zamak 3 is the most common, providing an excellent combination of castability, strength, and ductility.
Precifine Die & Casting - Specialists in Zinc Pressure Die Casting
Precifine Die & Casting is a company that specializes in high-quality zinc pressure die casting and precision machining services. They have over 50 years of experience producing zinc die cast parts for a range of industries.
Some key capabilities of Precifine Die & Casting:
- Zinc pressure die casting equipment with clamping forces up to 3,000 tons. This allows them to produce parts weighing up to 20 pounds.
- In-house tool and die capability. They design and fabricate complex dies from tool steel, reducing lead times and costs. The dies are precision CNC machined and hand-finished.
- Secondary CNC machining with multiple 5-axis machining centers. This provides milling, drilling, tapping, and other finishing operations to castings.
- Assembly services. Parts can be fully assembled and shipped as complete sub-assemblies or finished products.
- Finishing processes including chromating, painting, powder coating, silk screening, vibratory finishing, passivation, and more. This gives products the desired decorative and protective finishes.
Precifine serves customers in diverse industries including automotive, electronics, hardware, industrial controls, and consumer products. Some example components they manufacture through zinc die casting include electrical junction boxes, gears, levers, pulleys, motor housings, and door hardware parts.
Benefits of Working with Precifine Die & Casting
There are several key benefits that Precifine Die & Casting offers customers:
- One-stop shop. Their full suite of in-house services eliminates the need to source parts from multiple vendors. Customers can get cast, machined, assembled, and finished parts from a single supplier.
- Expert engineering support. Precifine's engineers help optimize designs for manufacturability. They provide feedback on draft angles, wall thicknesses, fillets, and other factors to prevent defects and lower costs.
- Rapid prototyping. Prototypes can be produced from 3D printed polymer or CNC machined aluminum parts. This accelerates the design verification process prior to committing to tooling.
- Flexible production volumes. They can deliver small prototype batches to high volume runs of 100,000+ parts annually.
- Robust quality systems. Precifine maintains stringent process controls and rigorous quality assurance testing. They are ISO 9001 and IATF 16949 certified.
Overall, Precifine Die & Casting enables customers to get precise, resilient, and affordable zinc die cast parts through their technical expertise, advanced capabilities, and customer focus. Their full-service approach makes them a valuable partner for companies looking to maximize the benefits of zinc pressure die casting.
The Zinc Pressure Die Casting Process
Zinc pressure die casting requires a sophisticated production process utilizing specialized equipment. Here are the key steps:
1. Molten zinc alloy is melted in a furnace and transferred to an injection cylinder. Common zinc alloys like Zamak 3 melt at around 800°F.
2. The two halves of a steel die are closed and clamped by the die casting machine. The die halves form the mold cavity and core inserts form internal features.
3. A piston injects the molten zinc into the die under high pressure, typically around 15,000 psi. This high pressure fills the die cavity completely.
4. The zinc alloy rapidly cools and solidifies in the water-cooled die, taking just 45-60 seconds. This enables a short cycle time.
5. The die halves are opened and the robotic die casting machine automatically ejects the finished part. Simple runner and overflow systems separate easily from the part.
6. Parts may undergo trimming where excess material is sheared off. Then they are checked for defects before continuing to finishing.
7. Secondary machining and finishing operations are often performed to achieve tight tolerances, smooth surfaces, and final part geometry. These include CNC machining, grinding, plating, painting, chromating, and more.
8. Finally, parts are packaged and shipped to customers. They may go through additional assembly as well.
The precise process controls, automated equipment, and quick cycle times of zinc die casting make it highly productive and cost-effective for medium and high volume production runs.
Design Considerations for Zinc Pressure Die Cast Parts
To fully utilize the capabilities of zinc pressure die casting, components should be designed with the process in mind. Here are some key design considerations:
- Add draft angles of at least 1-2° on all vertical surfaces to ease ejection. Avoid perpendicular sides.
- Include generous corner and fillet radii to minimize stress concentrations.
- Uniform wall thickness to prevent sinks and distortion. Thickness should range from 0.8mm to 3mm for Zamak 3 alloy.
- Avoid thick cross sections which result in shrinkage cavities. Use ribs or foams instead for strength.
- Minimize unnecessary machining by integrating functional elements into the casting.
- Limit the number of sliding cores needed since they add cost.
- Design holes, bosses, and inserts for precision location. Allow 0.5mm clearance around pins.
- Specify generous tolerances of ±0.3% to account for process variation. Tight tolerances increase cost.
- Add symbols or parting lines to identify top/bottom orientation since the two sides can differ.
With early collaboration between the product designer and die caster, zinc castings can be optimized to fully utilize the advantages of the process while minimizing cost.
Prototyping and Low-Volume Production
Before committing to full-scale zinc die casting production, prototypes are usually produced to verify and optimize the design. For low initial volumes, pressure die casting can be replaced with lower-cost processes until higher quantities are required. Alternatives include:
- CNC Machining - Small batches can be economically machined from plastic or aluminum. Lead times are short.
- Sand Casting - Disposable sand molds create castings in small runs. Dimensional accuracy is lower than die casting.
- Permanent Mold Casting - Reusable aluminum molds offer more precision than sand at moderate volumes.
- 3D Printing - Stereolithography (SLA) creates detailed plastic 3D printed parts for form and fit testing.
These processes avoid the high upfront cost of customized die tooling. Once the design is finalized and demand rises, the switch can be made to high volume zinc pressure die casting. Die development takes around 2-4 months and costs $15,000-$50,000 depending on part size and complexity.
For prototyping through early production, working with an experienced supplier like Precifine that offers multiple processes lowers risk and provides flexibility. Their expertise in scaling up to zinc die casting is valuable.
Applications of Zinc Pressure Die Cast Parts
The combination of excellent mechanical properties, precision, and low cost make zinc pressure die castings suitable for many demanding applications across diverse industries.
Common applications include:
- Electronics - Covers, chassis, heat sinks, EMI/RFI shielding, switches, connectors
- Automotive - Locks, latches, pulleys, gears, shift levers, steering components
- Appliances - Hinges, brackets, motor housings, bases, covers, handles
- Medical - Equipment housings, instrument components, MRI tables
- Lighting - Heat sinks, reflectors, fixtures, lamp parts
- Plumbing - Valves, fittings, clamps, covers
- Furniture - Locks, latches, hinges, drawer slides, decorative parts
- Consumer - Power tool housings, zippers, fasteners, costume jewelry
Zinc castings offer the strength to withstand mechanical forces yet can provide thin walls, complex geometries, and detailed features required in many products.
Precifine Die & Casting helps customers leverage zinc die casting to produce innovative, high-performing components for today's marketplace. Their full-service capabilities in casting, machining, finishing, and assembly provide solutions tailored to each customer's specific needs and production goals.
With over half a century of experience, Precifine has the expertise to deliver high-quality zinc castings that provide lasting value to their customers. CNC Milling