Deco Products | Why Zinc for Casting Parts

Why Zinc for Casting Parts

Zinc alloys can be ideal for the die casting process. It has high fluidity and when molten flows to ensure part feature precision. Also, unlike other processes, you can easily machine features or cast in features such as threads or intricate elements to a part. This blog post will explore ten reasons behind the zinc die casting popularity.

What is zinc vs a zinc alloy?

Zinc is an element and metal that naturally occurs in nature and is mined much like iron, silver or gold. A zinc alloy combines zinc with other metals to achieve a more precise chemistry or mixture to achieve ideal characteristics of strength and fluidity and corrosion resistance.

See the following for more information: Zinc Alloys – Deco Products | Zinc Die Casting Manufacturer | Iowa

Designers and engineers choose zinc die-casting for its inherent benefits in component design. Principally, zinc die-castings are strong, economical, and often cast to exact shapes without additional machining needs.

10 Reasons Why Think Zinc for Casting Parts

Strength: Zinc Alloys Are Stronger

Zinc alloys are stronger per weight than other materials. This produces a casting with greater impact resistance and rigidity than its plastic and aluminum counterparts.

Cast With Thinner Walls:

Zinc alloys may be cast with thinner wall cross sections than other metals. Therefore, since zinc is stronger than aluminum and can be cast with thinner walls it is conceivable that less material would be suitable for designs in zinc alloys rather than other materials.

Also, zinc is not prone to have “sink” defects such as the case with plastics when wall.

Long Tool Life with Zinc Casted Parts

A typical zinc mold can last 10 times as long as an aluminum mold. It has longer life because it is less abrasive and has a lower melting temperature and thus less thermal shock. If tool costs are a sizable part of production expenses, choosing zinc alloys over aluminum alloys can save manufacturers significantly.

Especially in high-volume scenarios, zinc offers substantial cost advantages.

Zinc Alloys | Why Zinc for Casting Parts | Deco Products

Zinc for Casting Parts with Greater Density

Zinc die castings are typically denser and as such provide a premium feel for a part and good value to the end users. There are times when extra weight is undesirable, but when designing interactive parts, such as door or window hardware, the feel of zinc is highly valued.

Finishing of Zinc Parts

The surface of a zinc casting allows for great adhesion of a broad assortment of finishes. Zinc castings are readily powder coated, electroplated, painted, pad printed, or chromated. Allowing almost any desired aesthetic characteristic and coating durability.

High Ductility

Manufacturers can join or fix assemblies with zinc through various methods, eliminating the need for fasteners. Because of its high ductility, zinc can undergo deformation. This facilitates riveting, staking, and crimping. These methods permanently fasten the casting by displacing metal at a clamping point.

Bearing Properties

The exceptional bearing properties of zinc bring significant advantages to component designs. This translates to potential eliminations of bushing and wear inserts, streamlining manufacturing processes.

Heat Sink Applications

Zinc die casting offers numerous advantages over aluminum for heat sink applications and challenges. Die-cast zinc heat sinks offer one-piece construction, increased design flexibility and lower cost. One of the biggest advantages is the heat-dissipating fins can be incorporated into a frame, housing or enclosure. Casting fins as part of the housing lowers costs significantly by reducing components. and eliminating assembly costs and thus streamlining the manufacturing process. Additionally, a single component that combines both housing and heat sink has greater thermal efficiency. Zinc’s excellent fluidity enables thinner, closely spaced fins in a fixed area and thus provides more surface area for heat dissipation and efficiency.

Eco-Friendly with Smaller Carbon Footprint

Zinc alloys are among the cleanest melting materials available, non-toxic, and 100% recyclable. Unlike plastic injection molding, all by products of the zinc casting process can be re-melted and cast again without material degradation. Also, zinc melts below 800 degrees Fahrenheit, but aluminum must be over 1200 degrees Fahrenheit. This also results in the zinc die casting process to be much quicker. The extra heat and time required to cast aluminum means more fuel used in the production process. This not only helps make zinc die casting a greener alternative but provides savings as well.

In Conclusion

In die casting, zinc is a versatile and widely used metal because of its exceptional properties. Zinc, with its low melting point provides a very fluid material for casting strong and precise parts. It has a quick but repeatable process to cast intricate shapes, consuming minimal energy and saving time and cost. The proven zinc alloys are safe, recyclable, corrosion resistance and are great substrate for decorative or non-decorative surfaces.  They always provide a quality part and can be key to success for your next project, whether you require a balance of mechanical characteristics or best cost, zinc will likely be an important material choice to consider.

We Are Ready to Design Your Next Part

At Deco, our Engineering Staff excels in both new tooling designs and tooling transfer projects, boasting a wealth of experience. Our engineers seamlessly collaborate with your own engineering team to determine the optimal use of zinc alloy materials in your tool design.
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Michele Duwe

Michele Duwe is the Sales and Marketing Manager with Deco Products. She has seven plus years as a digital marketing manager and a decade of sales and marketing experience.