Deco Products has been a trusted zinc alloy die caster since 1960 providing exceptional products for all its customers. Zinc has a number of different alloys including Zamak 5, ZA – 8, Zamak 2, and EZAC. These specific alloys listed are used at Deco Products for a multitude of part designs.
Different zinc alloys contain different properties such as better tensile strength, compressive strength, impact resistance, forming capabilities, etc. Who better to explain the differences in zinc alloys than one of our expert engineers?
Listen to Jim Meyers, our senior engineer, compare the different alloys of zinc like Zamak 3, Zamak 5, ZA – 8, Zamak 2, and EZAC by watching the video below.
Zamak No. 3
The most widely used zinc alloy is commonly called No. 3. Its excellent all-around physical and mechanical properties, superb cast-ability, and long-term dimensional stability have made it the choice for about 85% of U.S. die-castings. In most design applications using a zinc alloy, No. 3 will do the job. In general, only after casting design improvements have been evaluated and found inadequate should another alloy be considered.
Zamak No. 5
The addition of about l% copper to the No. 3 alloy provides increased tensile strength (about 15%) and higher hardness at the expense of elongation and impact strength. No. 5 alloy is widely used in Europe, but accounts for less than 10% of U.S. consumption.
Zamak No. 2
Actually, a predecessor of the universal No. 3 alloy, No. 2 offers the highest strength and hardness available in a conventional zinc alloy. It is about 25% stronger as cast than No. 3 and 10% stronger than No. 5 with higher hardness than both.
The principle disadvantages of this interesting alloy are its very low impact strength and elongation after aging (especially at higher temperatures) and a slight dimensional instability with aging.
ZA-8
Offers best plating and finishing characteristics with improved strength, hardness and creep properties compared to the other conventional zinc ZAMAK die casting alloys. Major application area is usually for die casting where improved properties over ZAMAK’s are required, particularly performance at elevated temperatures.
EZACTM
This is the most recent development in commercially available zinc die casting alloys. Research has shown EZACTM to be the most creep resistant of all the zinc die casting alloys with over an order of magnitude improvement over ZAMAK 5 and ZA-8. This is also a very strong alloy with a yield strength (57 ksi) and hardness (102-134 brinell) comparable to ZA-27.
Due to its low melting temperature, EZACTM can be cast in a hot chamber die casting machine and does not exhibit the same wear and tear as shown with ACuZinc®5.
Deco Products has been a “Made in USA” zinc alloy die caster since 1960. Deco Products provides exceptional service and quality products for a multitude of industries. A few services Deco Products provides are custom precision engineered zinc die casting, powder coating, assembly, CNC Machining, and DFM-Part Design. Deco has been a stable and reliable supplier to the industry and continuously strives for being the best value for its key partner/customers.
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