Addressing the Challenges of Casting Today’s Alloys and Metals

The earliest metals that were die cast were alloys of lead and tin. However, today the most commonly used metals are alloys of zinc, aluminum, and magnesium. Brass and copper also have limited applications in high-pressure die casting^†. All of these metals have widely differing physical characteristics that consequently create very different demands in die lubrication.

Alloys are commonly used in high-pressure die casting, since pure metals rarely have all the mechanical properties desired in a cast part. Some of the characteristics desired include specific gravity, ultimate tensile strength^†, yield strength^†, ductility^†, Young’s modulus, shear strength^†, hardness, impact strength^†, coefficient of thermal expansion, corrosion resistance, creep^† resistance, thermal and electrical conductivity, ease of polishing, plating or coating and machinability^†. From a casting point of view, some of the features of an alloy include solder resistance, fluidity, heat capacity, thermal conductivity and resistance to hot tearing^†. Chem-Trend has developed a strong and broad portfolio of process aids to work with these alloys and address the differing demands they place on die casters through its five decades of shop floor experience working with its customers around the globe.