Tooling for Die Casting is also known as die casting tooling and die casting molds. The tooling for die casting is constructed from steel and is hardened to 40 plus Rockwell. The steel is cut using mill cutters and using an EDM (Electronic Discharge Machining) process. The die casting mold usually takes more than six weeks to create, many times it may take ten or more for larger or more complex die casting molds or tools.
The area of the die cast tooling that creates the form of the part casting (part) is called the die cavity. The die cavity has the inverse shape of the part casting, like a muffin pan. The cavity is usually inside the “cavity insert” a square block of steel that will fit inside a mold base. There are two inserts for each tool, one for the “hot side” and one for the “ejector side”. These inserts are typically the same size in height and width and can vary in depth, depending on the part cavity depth.
The inserts are mounted in a “Die Mold Base” that is much larger than the set of inserts. The hot side of the moldbase has a hole where the molten metal is injected into the die through a cylinder (shot cylinder) pushed with a shot piston. The ejector side of the moldbase has an ejector plate with pins, known as ejector pins, these ejector pins push the completed part casting out of the cavity.
The cost of the die casting tooling is the responsibility of the customer. Sometimes tooling inserts are sold to a customer to save the cost of making die casting tooling. The cost of the moldbase is born by the die casting company.
