Die Casting Design

Information on Die Casting Design can be found in many places such as text books, technical papers, literature, magazines which publish information about Die Casting designs, seminars and courses conducted by engineering societies, trade associations and industry.  In many cases the Die Caster selected to produce a component part is an excellent source for information.  The best way to gain a maximum advantage of the Die Casting process is to draw upon the experience of a custom die caster.

These are some key guides that should be considered when designing for Die Casting.

-Design Parts to minimize the costs of flash

-Design Die Castings to minimize machining required.

-Consider contact areas for surfaces which are to be buffed or polished. Avoid sharp edges and deep recesses.

-In areas where machining is required allow sufficient metal for required cuts.

-Thin Sections should be specified to be easily die casted, while providing adequate strength and stiffness. A rib should be  used whenever possible to attain maximum strength and minimum weight.

-Sections must be kept as uniform as possible, where sections must be varied

-Keep shapes simple and avoid non essential projections.

-Avoid small cores. An issue that sometimes arises with small cores is they can easily be bent or broken which means they will need more frequent replacement. Sometimes drilling or piercing small holes in Die Castings is cheaper than the cost of maintaining small cores.

-Specify coring for holes or recesses where savings in metal and overall costs outweigh tooling.

-Avoid us of undercuts which increase die or operating costs unless savings in metal or other advantages fully warrant extra costs.