Comprehensive guidelines for cost-effective die casting production. Written for OEM product designers and engineers to aid in optimizing their part designs and specifications for custom production in Aluminum, Magnesium, and Zinc die casting alloys.
The CWM Die Casting
Design and Specification Guide
for Custom Al, Mg & Zn Components
A Condensed Resource for OEM Designers and Engineers
Comprehensive guidelines for cost-effective die casting production. Written for OEM product designers and engineers to aid in optimizing their part designs and specifications for custom production in Aluminum, Magnesium, and Zinc die casting alloys.
Prepared and updated by ® Chicago White Metal Casting, Inc.Bensenville, Illinois U.S.A.C O N T E N T S Page DisclaimerEvery effort has been made to assure the accu-Design & Specification Guide Introduction 3 racy of the data presented in this Design andRecyclability & Environmental Practices 3 Specification Guide, but Chicago White MetalAnatomy of a Die Set & Die Cast Part 4 Casting cannot be responsible for resultsD E S I G N & S P E C D E C I S I O N S T E P S obtained with this data. CWM disclaims any 1 Matching Material Properties 5 liability arising out of the use of this material. No warranties, express or implied, are given in2 Die & Unit Die Construction 6 connection with this publication.Cast Features & Die Elements 6Assuring Longer Die Life 7CWM Production & Die LIfe, by Alloy 73 Minimizing Part Porosity 84 Optimizing Part Heat Transfer 85 Preplanning Post-Casting Machining 86 Tolerancing Guidelines: Caution 97 Metal Extension (Flash) Guidelines 108 As-Cast Finish Guidelines 109 Further Component Design Assistance 1110 Magmasoft® Die Flow Simulation 1211 Prototyping for Die Casting 12Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) 12Machined Prototypes 1212 Post-Casting Operations 13CNC Precision Machining 13Surface Treatments and Finishing 1313 CWM Collaborative Engineering 14Customer-CWM Interaction 14The Collaborative Engineering Model 14Customer Responsibilities 1514 Design File Transfer Options 1515 Contract Manufacturing & Assembly 15CWM Design & Specification Resources 16Design Information by Instant Download 16CWM Sales/Engineers 16Website & Contact Information 16
2 CWM Design and Specification GuideDesign & Specification Guide IntroductionThe guidelines presented in this publication are intended to aid OEM prod-uct design engineers in designing and specifying parts for cost-effective diecasting production-in aluminum, magnesium, zinc and ZA-8 alloys.They were researched and compiled by Chicago White Metal Castingfrom its over 70 years of industry experience and the latest design and pro-duction resource data, relying primarily on NADCA Product SpecificationStandards for Die Casting. These design-for-die casting guidelines areintended as a concise and easily referenced initial source for the key specifi-cation characteristics that drive the cost and performance of componentsdie cast in Al, Mg and Zn alloys. Many of the Standards and Guidelines presented require further detailedqualifications, dependent on the specific design, configuration and perfor-mance requirements of a proposed part. In such cases, the detailed NADCAStandards and other sources are referenced. Note that the CWM engineer-ing department should always be consulted early in the product conceptstage, before irrevocable design-for-manufacturing decisions are made.Selected design data, including sections of the NADCA ProductSpecification Standards manual, are available by instant download inAdobe PDF Reader format from the CWM website's OEM Resource Center,in the Engineering Bulletins section, at www.cwmdiecast.com. This valuablereference volume can also be purchased from CWM at a special discount,using the special discount order form in the Resource Center's ReferenceManuals section.
Recyclable Die Castings and Environmental PracticesAll of the metal alloys used by CWM are pro-duced from recycled raw materials. All of Steel Mill SPECIFICATIONthe aluminum parts, for example, are die & Others ALLOYINGOTcast from post-consumer recycled alu-minum, which has the capability of repeatedlymeeting the requirements of high-performance Drossapplications. The die casting alloy recycling SECONDARY SMELTER and DIEANDPRIMARY PRODUCER Fines CASTERstream, illustrated here, is based on the existingworldwide infrastructure that has been operativefor over 60 years. This basic pattern, with vary- Al, Mg,ing amounts of reclaimed alloy going to Zn Internal FinishedReclaim Diesecondary and primary producers, Other Reclaim CastingsNonferrousapplies to the majority of all metal cast Reclaiminto components by Chicago White Metal Ferrous Plastic... [download for more]
