<p>At Dynacast all of our machines need to meet certain standards. As a machine ages, technologies can become outdated and parts can wear. This blog post will give you an inside look at how we keep our machines up and running, and how we upgrade them to ensure the most up-to-date technology is available for our customers’ manufacturing needs.</p><h2>Why is regular maintenance essential?</h2><p>Regular maintenance is crucial for several reasons. Well-maintained machines operate more reliably, reducing downtime and production disruptions. Up-to-date equipment often offers improved efficiency, leading to higher output and lower costs. Adhering to maintenance schedules helps ensure compliance with industry regulations and safety standards. Upgrading machines allows us to incorporate the latest technologies and stay competitive in the market.</p><h2>How do we handle machine breakdowns?</h2><p>While we strive to prevent breakdowns, we are prepared to address them promptly. Our proactive maintenance programs, coupled with a robust inventory of spare parts, minimize downtime. In the event of a breakdown, we can quickly identify and replace faulty components, ensuring minimal disruption to production.</p><p>Accommodating Special Requests (H3)</p><p>Dynacast is equipped to handle special projects and components. Our specialized tooling and machinery enable us to efficiently produce complex parts and meet unique customer requirements. We can also customize machine programming to accommodate specific functions or tolerances.</p>

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Explore how Dynacast's precision die casting machines deliver superior part quality and efficiency, advancing manufacturing processes.

Precision Die Casting Machines | Precision Meets Progress

Dynacast prioritizes machine maintenance and upgrades to ensure optimal performance, minimize downtime, and deliver high-quality products. 

Precision Meets Progress: Machine Upgrades

<p>Thixomolding is a technology for producing high-quality magnesium components, offering advantages such as improved part quality, less tool wear, and reduced energy use. Developed over 25 years, it uses solid metal chips heated into a semi-solid state and injected into a mold. This method ensures better control over material properties, including thinner walls, less porosity, and greater accuracy. Dynacast's Dynathixo technology enhances this process with a cold chamber system for optimal efficiency.</p><h2><strong>The Thixomolding Process</strong></h2><p>Thixomolding involves the following key steps:</p><ol><li><strong>Solid Chips</strong>: Instead of molten material, solid magnesium metal chips are loaded into the extruder.</li><li><strong>Compression and Heating</strong>: The chips are compressed and heated inside the extruder, where they transform into a semi-solid material.</li><li><strong>Injection</strong>: The semi-solid material is then injected into the mold cavity using the extruder as a piston, where it solidifies and forms the final part.</li></ol><p>This method allows manufacturers to create parts with enhanced mechanical properties, while the semi-solid nature of the material helps to reduce shrinkage and porosity.</p><h2><strong>Combining Thixomolding and Cold Chamber Technology with Dynathixo</strong></h2><p>While thixomolding has proven to be a highly effective casting method, Dynacast has taken this technology to the next level with Dynathixo. This advanced semi-solid metal casting process combines traditional thixomolding with cold chamber technology, offering significant improvements in production efficiency, part quality, and environmental impact.</p><p>The Dynathixo system features an extruder that mixes solid metal chips into the pressure chamber, which is then processed using a cold chamber plunger and hydraulic system. The result is a robust system that delivers excellent shot weight, and high-quality magnesium components.</p><p></p><figure style="text-align: center"><div data-img-caption-container="true" style="display: inline-block; text-align: center;"><img asset_uid="blt8d18edc78634c287" width="839" src="https://azure-na-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/bltc3d459c709c6e7a5/blt8d18edc78634c287/67ea9a53a83ed3095b785184/Dynacast_Additional_Capabilities_Thixomolding_Dendrit_Process.jpg" alt="Graphic showing how semi-solid metal chips are formed during the thixomolding process" height="498" style="max-width: 839px;width: 839px;height: 498px;text-align: center;" /></div></figure><p></p><h2><strong>Dynathixo’s Key Advantages</strong></h2><p>Dynathixo stands out for its ability to deliver high-performance parts with the following benefits:</p><ul><li><strong>Superior Material Properties</strong>: Dynathixo components benefit from enhanced strength and durability, making them ideal for high-performance applications.</li><li><strong>Reduced Tool Wear</strong>: The lower temperature at which the material is processed reduces wear on the tooling, extending tool life and minimizing maintenance costs.</li><li><strong>Improved Part Quality</strong>: The combination of thixomolding and cold chamber technology ensures that the final parts have thinner walls, reduced porosity, and greater dimensional accuracy compared to standard casting methods.</li><li><strong>Flexibility</strong>: Dynathixo machines can quickly be converted to cast aluminum via the cold chamber die casting process, offering versatility across different material requirements.</li><li><strong>Environmental Efficiency</strong>: The process operates at lower temperatures compared to traditional die casting, reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions. Additionally, there is no need for inert gases, further improving the environmental footprint of the process.</li></ul><h2><strong>The Future of Thixomolding Manufacturing</strong></h2><p>As demand for high-performance, cost-effective, and sustainable components grows, Dynathixo is poised to play a critical role in meeting these needs. This innovative technology is set to revolutionize the way manufacturers approach magnesium die casting, offering a more durable alternative to traditional casting methods.</p>

Learn what Thixomolding is and how it enhances the die casting process by combining the benefits of injection molding and die casting techniques.

What is Thixomolding? | Die Casting Technology

The article explores thixomolding, a manufacturing process for high-quality magnesium components that enhances part precision, reduces energy consumption, and minimizes tool wear. It also highlights Dynacast's Dynathixo technology, which improves the process with a cold chamber system for greater efficiency and control.

What is Thixomolding?

<p>The solar industry is booming, and with it comes a renewed focus on domestic production. Federal incentives are pushing manufacturers to bring their operations back to the US, creating both opportunities and significant challenges. One solar panel mounting manufacturer found themselves facing a tight deadline to relocate their production, and they needed a partner who could help them navigate this complex transition.</p><h2><strong>A Race Against Time</strong></h2><p>To capitalize on federal incentives and substantial cost reductions, prioritizing US production relocation was essential. The challenge was not just about relocating tools and parts, but also about establishing a robust, high-quality manufacturing process that would be sustainable in the future. The manufacturer needed to meet demanding quality standards, significantly expand their capacity, and do it all while minimizing disruption to their existing operations.</p><h2><strong>A Seamless Tooling Transition</strong></h2><p>The Dynacast team partnered with the solar mounting manufacturer to rapidly onshore their production, streamline their supply chain, and ensure a high-quality output. Scalable capacity was a key factor, allowing them to meet both their current production needs and anticipate their future growth. Quick turnaround times meant they could get their new production line up and running fast. Their in-house assembly expertise further provided a crucial value-added service, simplifying their operations.</p><p>A smooth tooling transfer was essential to minimizing production disruptions. The Lake Forest engineering team played a critical role in this process, ensuring a seamless transition and minimizing any downtime. This expertise was invaluable in keeping the project on track.</p><h2><strong>Successful Solar Onshoring</strong></h2><p>Dynacast enabled the rapid onshoring of the solar manufacturer's production, leading to several key benefits:</p><ul><li>Improvement in part quality</li><li>Access to valuable tax incentives associated with domestic production</li><li>Value-added operations</li></ul><p>Dynacast effectively managed the onshoring challenges for the solar manufacturer, delivering optimized results within a limited timeframe. As the solar industry continues to innovate and push the boundaries of technology, efficient manufacturing is crucial. The drive for domestic solar production is a major trend, reflecting a shift towards energy independence and sustainable practices.</p>

See how onshore manufacturing enhances supply chain stability, quality, and cost-effectiveness for solar industry components.

Onshore Manufacturing Benefits for Solar Parts

The solar industry is booming, and with it comes a renewed focus on domestic production. Federal incentives are pushing manufacturers to bring their operations back to the US, creating both opportunities and significant challenges. One solar panel mounting manufacturer found themselves facing a tight deadline to relocate their production, and they needed a partner who could help them navigate this complex transition. This articles explains how Dynacast was able to help.

The Benefits of Onshore Solar Manufacturing

<p>If you are looking for a high strength, creep resistant, zinc based alloy, keep reading. Dynacast partners with Eastern Alloys, Inc., a manufacturer of world-class zinc alloys. They are constantly working on new alloys that result in better, more economical ways to die cast. By working closely with them, Dynacast offers alloys that many of its competitors do not. It ensures that our customers are receiving the best possible alloy for their components. </p><h2>Overview Zinc Alloys</h2><p>When zinc die casting first became available, it quickly gained recognition as a lightweight and cost-effective alternative to other alloys such as tin and lead. Over the past century, zinc alloys have made steady progress. While zinc has always been acknowledged for its high strength, the introduction of the Zamak family, and now the revolutionary EZAC™ alloy, has further enhanced the suitability of hot chamber die casting zinc alloys for a wide range of applications. Prior to the introduction of EZAC™, zinc was often overlooked for applications requiring high tensile strength, especially high-temperature tensile strength. Additionally, most zinc alloys exhibited low creep resistance compared to other materials. These areas of improvement were the primary focus during the creation of EZAC™, resulting in a zinc alloy that surpasses previous limitations.</p><h2>Benefits of EZAC</h2><p>The EZAC™ alloy provides exceptional benefits when compared to other zinc alloys. It offers superior creep resistance, higher yield strength, and increased hardness. In fact, during creep resistance tests conducted at 140°C and 31MPa, EZAC™ outlasts Zamak 2 by approximately fourteen times and ACuZinc5 by three times, achieving an impressive duration of 730 hours. This remarkable performance ensures enhanced reliability and longevity for your die casting projects, making EZAC™ the ideal choice for demanding applications.</p><h2>Comparing EZAC to Other Alloys</h2><p>In terms of yield strength, EZAC™ is comparable to ZA-27, the strongest cold chamber zinc die cast alloy. With a yield strength of 396 MPa, surpassing all other hot chamber zinc die cast alloys, EZAC™ achieves a 42% improvement over Zamak 2 and a 19% improvement over ACuZinc5. The hardness of EZAC™ also demonstrates a 19% improvement over Zamak 2 and an 11% improvement compared to ACuZinc5. These advancements in yield strength and hardness make EZAC™ a superior choice for die casting applications, ensuring enhanced performance and durability.<br /></p><p><strong>To compare mechanical and physical properties of other alloys, try our  metal selector tool!</strong></p><p>While EZAC exhibits low elongation at approximately 1%, it maintains comparable Impact Strength with ACuZinc5 at 2.2ft-lbs.</p><p>Compared with other high strength zinc alloys such as ACuZinc5 and ZA27, EZAC has shown excellent castability that does not result in accelerated wear on shot end components.</p>

Explore the unique properties and applications of EZAC in die casting, offering high performance and durability for complex parts.

EZAC Die Casting Spotlight | Dynacast

Explore the advantages of EZAC™, a cutting-edge zinc alloy from Eastern Alloys that offers superior creep resistance, enhanced yield strength, and increased hardness, making it a standout choice for high-performance die casting applications.

Precision Meets Progress: Machine Upgrades

Why is regular maintenance essential?

How do we handle machine breakdowns?

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