Aluminum and Magnesium Die Casting

For over a century, TCDC has been dedicated to creating custom Aluminum and Magnesium die casting solutions for a variety of industries.

As described by the North American Die Casting Association, "Die casting is a versatile process for producing engineered metal parts by forcing molten metal under high pressure into reusable steel molds. These molds, called dies, can be designed to produce complex shapes with a high degree of accuracy and repeatability. Parts can be sharply defined, with smooth or textured surfaces, and are suitable for a wide variety of attractive and serviceable finishes. Die castings are among the highest volume, mass-produced items manufactured by the metalworking industry, and they can be found in thousands of consumer, commercial and industrial products. Die cast parts are important components of products ranging from automobiles to toys. Parts can be as simple as a sink faucet or as complex as a connector housing." For more information, visit the North American Die Casting Association (NADCA) at: www.diecasting.org

600T Colosio High Pressure Die Casting Machine

Twin City Die Castings - Minneapolis, MN

This is a 4-cavity tool running in one of our 600 ton Colosio high pressure die cast machines. These aluminum castings are auto-trimmed, and will go through a vibe process, and leak testing before they are packaged and shipped to a global supplier to the automotive industry.

Aluminum (Al) die casting alloys have specific gravity of approximately 2.7 g/cc, placing them among the lightweight structural metals. The majority of die castings produced worldwide are made from aluminum alloys. Machining characteristics vary somewhat among the commercially available aluminum die casting alloys, but the entire group is superior to iron, steel and titanium. The rapid solidification rate associated with the die casting process makes die casting alloys somewhat superior to wrought and gravity cast alloys of similar chemical composition.

At Twin City Die Castings, the following Aluminum alloys are standard:

• Alloy A380 (ANSI/AA A380.0) is by far the most widely cast of the aluminum die casting alloys, offering the best combination of material properties and ease of production. It may be specified for most product applications. Some of the uses of this alloy include electronic and communications equipment, automotive components, engine brackets, transmission and gear cases, appliances, lawn mower housings, furniture components, hand and power tools.
• Alloy A360 (ANSI/AA A360.0) offers higher corrosion resistance, superior strength at elevated temperatures, and somewhat better ductility, but is more difficult to cast.

Magnesium (Mg) has a specific gravity of 1.74 g/cc, making it the lightest commonly used structural metal. Alloy AZ91D offers the highest strength of the commercial magnesium die casting alloys. Alloys AM50 and AM60 are used in applications requiring good elongation, toughness, and impact resistance, combined with reasonably good strength and excellent corrosion resistance. Magnesium also offers longer die life than Aluminum, and exhibit the best machinability of any group of commercially used metal alloys.

At Twin City Die Castings, the following Magnesium alloys are standard:

• Alloy AZ91D offers the highest strength of the commercial magnesium die casting alloys. Alloy AZ91D is the most widely-used magnesium die casting alloy. It is a high-purity alloy with excellent corrosion resistance, excellent castability, and excellent strength. Corrosion resistance is achieved by enforcing strict limits on three metallic impurities: iron, copper and nickel.
• Alloy AM60 is used in applications requiring good elongation, toughness and impact resistance combined with reasonably good strength and excellent corrosion resistance.