The Effects of Externally Solidified Product on Wave Celerity and Quality of Die Cast Products

Abstract

The cold chamber die casting process is used to produce essentially all the die cast aluminum products and about 50% of the die cast magnesium products made today. Modeling of the cold chamber die casting process and metallographic observations of cold chamber die cast products indicate that typically 5 to 20% of the shot weight is solidified in the shot sleeve before or during cavity filling. The protion of the resulting die casting which is solidified in the shot sleeve is referred to as externally solidified product, or, when identified as a casting defect, as cold flakes. This project was directed to extending the understanding of the effects of externally solidified product on the cold chamber die casting process and products to enable the production of defect-free die castings and reduce the energy associated with these products. The projected energy savings from controlling the fraction of externally solidified product in die cast components is 40 x 10 Btu through the year 2025.