Aluminum Die Casting Metals

Aluminum castings are lightweight and able to withstand the highest operating temperatures of all die cast alloys.

Aluminum Alloy Characteristics:

  • High operating temperatures
  • Outstanding corrosion resistance
  • Lightweight
  • Very good strength and hardness
  • Good stiffness and strength-to-weight ratio
  • Excellent EMI and RFI shielding properties
  • Excellent thermal conductivity
  • High electrical conductivity
  • Good finishing characteristics
  • Full recyclability

Aluminum’s strength, corrosion resistance, and heat dissipating properties offer mechanical designers significant advantages. And our proprietary Thin Wall Aluminum Technology has made aluminum die casting an option for even more applications.

Interested in learning more about the die casting process? Check out our other die casting resources here.

 

Hot Chamber Aluminum Die Casting

Historically limited to cold chamber die casting, engineers at Dynacast developed an innovative technology to allow aluminum alloys access to hot chamber die casting. This proprietary, high-speed process promotes a multi-slide approach to generate faster production cycles and cost reduction while preserving part integrity. Other benefits to hot chamber aluminum die casting include the reduction of porosity, longer die life, the prevention of surface irregularities, among several others. 
  
The aluminum hot chamber capability offers a competitive advantage for die casting manufacturers for the first time industry-wide. This capability is offered at Dyancast’s facilities in Peterborough and Germany.  
  

 

 

Advantages of Aluminum Die Casting

One of the most significant benefits of aluminum die casting is that it creates lighter parts—with more surface finishing options than other die cast alloys. Aluminum can also withstand the highest operating temperatures of all the die cast alloys. Moreover, cast aluminum is versatile, corrosion resistant; it retains high dimensional stability with thin walls and can be used in almost any industry.

Read more about thin-wall aluminum die casting.

 

Aluminum Die Casting Applications: 

  • Aluminum castings improve automotive fuel efficiency by contributing to weight saving requirements
  • Aluminum is used in a broad range of networking and infrastructure equipment in the telecom and computing industries because RF filter boxes and housings require heat dissipation
  • In handheld devices, aluminum castings provide EMI/RFI shielding, rigidity, and durability with minimal weight
  • Because of aluminum’s excellent electrical performance and shielding properties, even in high-temperature environments, die cast aluminum is ideal for electronic connectors and housings

 

Recycling Aluminum Die Castings

Did you know that over 95 percent of aluminum castings made in North America are made of post-consumer recycled aluminum?

There is very little functional difference between primary (extracted or pure) and secondary (recycled) Recycling Aluminum Die Castingsaluminum when it refers to die casting. Secondary aluminum alloys are derived from mixing and melting pure aluminum with other materials such as magnesium, iron, and copper. The use of pure aluminum in casting is quite rare due to the cost of extraction. The ease of use in die casting combined with lighter weight and durability make aluminum alloys a top choice for designers from nearly any industry. 

Secondary aluminum is more economical to produce than primary aluminum because it only requires 5 percent as much energy to produce. Most of the energy consumption in aluminum die casting is used to heat and re-melt the metal during fabrication. For this reason, Dynacast is able to save more time, energy, and money by re-melting in-house.

 

Aluminum Alloys That Dynacast Offers

Compare
Material Alloy Elongation   Tensile Strength   Yield Strength (0.2%)   Impact Strength   Shear Strength   Hardness   Process
% in 50mm
PSI x 103
PSI x 103
ft lb
PSI x 103
Brinell (HB)
Aluminum Alloy A380
3.5
47
23
3
27
80
Aluminum Alloy 383 (ADC12)
3.5
45
22
3
-
75
B390
1
46
36
-
-
120
A413
3.5
42
19
-
25
80
413
2.5
43
21
-
25
80
K-Alloy
5
43
25
-
-
80
A360
3.5
46
24
-
26
75

** For comparison only.

 

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Last updated 12.18.2023