Zinc Die Casting, What is its all About?
Zinc is the most abundant metal on earth. Because its supply is high, it is cheaper compared to other metals making it ideal for production of parts used extensively by the public.
Manufacturing processes that deal with zinc include zinc die casting, extrusion, forging and rolling, stamping, permanent mold casting, etc. The most advantageous of these is zinc die casting because the parts it produces are lightweight, malleable, environment-friendly and corrosion-resistant. In addition, parts produced by die casting can be manufactured in net shape, making welding unnecessary. These properties make zinc die casting ideal for production of zinc parts used in automobiles, homes, and for industrial purposes.
In zinc die casting, molten zinc is forced into hardened steel die or “mold” cavities. These are usually water-cooled. After cooling, the dies are opened and the die castings would be ejected. Die casting companies only pay a big amount for the machinery but this is good investment because once the machinery has been paid for, the entire manufacturing process becomes very quick and easy, saving a lot of money, time and energy. The end products are also sold cheap. The production rate averages from a few hundred to a few thousand parts a day.
In the manufacture of cars, especially of economy cars, zinc is also very ideal because it is about 1/3 the weight of steel, reducing the weight of the entire car considerably, thus saving fuel. Many car manufacturing companies are currently conducting studies and research on zinc die casting to discover how they can use this process best in producing vehicles of tremendous quality. As these studies are conducted, more companies are now beginning to turn to zinc as an alternative to iron or steel.
