The Alloys of Die Casting. Aluminum is one of the most common alloys used in die casting. Aluminum is also one of the many alloys that can undergo almost all the process in casting. Die casting is where the aluminum is mostly used. But pure aluminum casting is rarely produced because of the susceptibility of the alloy to cracking and shrinkage. This alloy is usually alloyed with silicon and copper because these two alloys can increase melt fluidity, especially silicon, and reduces ductility. Silicon can also reduce maintainability of the alloy and copper can increase the hardness. The combination of the three alloys can reduce corrosion. For better corrosion resistance, aluminum casting with lower copper should be used such as 360 and 413. Aluminum is also commonly used when it comes to electricity because of its conductivity and high temperature strength. Aluminum has many uses in today’s everyday lives from office to home to commercial uses and industrial uses.
Furthermore, Aluminum Die Casting also has high dimensional stability when doing complex shapes and thin walls. The typical applications of aluminum alloy are Alloy 380.0, A380.0, 360, 413, and 518.1. They are typically used for home equipment like lawnmower, dental equipment, street lamp housings, frying skillets, escalator parts, connecting rods, instrument cases, and marine and aircraft hardware. Alloy 518 is known to have the highest corrosion resistance but it has low fluidity compared to the other aluminum alloys. This is also usually the most expensive aluminum alloy because of the difficulty to cast.
Also, Aluminum casting usually doesn’t undergo heat treatment but instead undergo metallurgical stabilization and dimensional treatment.