Different die casting methods have different metal choices. For high pressure hot chamber die casting, metal with low melting temperature such as magnesium and zinc are perfect. For cold chamber die casting you should choose alloys like aluminum which have high melting point.
In the industry there are many other materials besides zinc alloy. Cast iron, aluminum, machined steel, machined brass and magnesium, they are all competitive. You should consider material density, melting point, yield strength, tensile strength, elasticity and product’s application, so it is not easy to select alloy for you to get a better product.
In fact, what decide the quality of product are the mechanical and physical properties of alloy. Each alloy has their own characteristics, it makes product durable, strong or functional. The more complex the product, the harder it is to choose alloy and the higher the technical requirements. We can use these factors to judge zinc alloy is suitable for die casting or not.
Die casters regard that zinc alloys is more castable than Aluminum. There are two reasons. One is the melting point of zinc alloy is lower than aluminum. Another is zinc alloy require lower pressure in the die casting process. A die casting tool with a lower melting point in the process will has a longer working life. Because moulds are expensive so it is a economical way that produce large amounts of parts by moulds for a longer time.
Compared with cast iron and machined brass, zinc alloy has a relatively lower casting cost. However, cast iron and machined brass include varies of different materials which have different properties. So it is hard to make a comparison between zinc alloy and cast iron or machined brass.
Furthermore, zinc has better corrosion resistance than machined steel. Magnesium needs a special surface treatment for finishing but zinc doesn’t. So the process of die cast zinc alloy is more simple. All in all, die caster love zinc alloy for their product because zinc alloy is perfect for die casting manufacturing.
