Die casting

Die casting is a fast, cost-effective manufacturing process for production of high volume, net-shaped, tight tolerance metal components. It has the benefit of increased quality and repeatability, often at lower costs compared to other processes. The die casting process is the injection under high pressure into a steel mould (or tool) of a molten metal alloy, which solidifies rapidly (from milliseconds to a few seconds) to form a net shaped component and is then automatically extracted. The die casting tool will typically produce any number of components from hundreds of thousands to millions, before requiring replacement.

Size Range: Not normally over 0.60 square meter.
Part Weights: .upto 4.5 kgs.
Setup Cost: 100% payment in advance for tooling setup with free first article report.

Die Casting Tolerance:
- Aluminum die cast parts ± .05mm.
- Add ± .025mm to ±.38mm across parting line depending on size.
- Surface Finish: 32-63RMS.
- Minimum Draft Requirements: Aluminum 1° to 3°.
- Minimum Section Thickness: 1.52mm small parts, 2.30mm medium parts.
- Ordering Quantities: Usually 1,000 and up but sometimes as few as a hundred.

• Normal lead time:
  - Tooling: Sometimes as little as 4 weeks or as much as 12 weeks.
  - Samples: Usually the week the die is available.
  - Production: Starts usually within two weeks (sometimes less) after approval.