Casting is a 6000 year old manufacturing process. Casting is a manufacturing process by which a liquid material is usually poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solidified part is also known as a casting, which is ejected or broken out of the mold to complete the process. Casting is most often used for making complex shapes that would be otherwise difficult or uneconomical to make by other methods.
Castings are used in areas like transportation, aerospace, defense, mining, construction, maritime, fluid power, & domestic household. Some cast components include: engine blocks, suspension parts for auto mobiles, cooling fan components & fluid flow components like valves, pumps, pipes, and fittings. To cut the emissions there is a need to improve the fuel efficiency and make the vehicle lighter in weight. Non ferrous metal like aluminium is lighter than steel and has density one third of that of steel. Aluminium has a lower density of 2.7 gm/cc compared to 7.8 gm/cc of steel. Aluminum and aluminum alloys are lightweight with good corrosion resistance, ductility and strength. Aluminium is a light silver coloured metal placed 13 on the periodic table and is important group 3 element. It has good resistance to corrosion and due to its aesthetics it makes a suitable alloy for varied applications.
Dr. Dinesh & Ramesh is in the process of manufacturing Aluminium castings of various alloys including LM6, LM9, LM25, A356, 413, AlSi8Mg3, AlSi10Mg amongst others.
There are various casting processes including Gravity Die Casting (Permanent Mold Casting), Low Pressure Die Casting, High Pressure Die Casting, Investment Casting, Sand Casting processes. Dr. Dinesh & Ramesh have expertise in the Gravity Die Casting and Low Pressure Die Casting processes since 1979.
In Gravity Die Casting process the metal is filled under the influence of gravity hence the name Gravity Die Casting. The metal is carefully directed through an ingate under the influence of gravity to fill the die. There are various gates and sprues through which Aluminium enters the dies (usually made of iron alloys).There is provision of various risers to allow proper feeding and give defect free homogenous casting. It is the experience and knowledge of the foundry engineer to provide optimum risering and gating to give defect free parts. Dr. Dinesh & Ramesh has that experience and knowledge of more than 30 years to give customers value and quality. At DRE, we have always been up to speed with technology and have developed various equipments at our facility to increase productivity and sustained quality of our products to our customers.
Dr. Dinesh & Ramesh has also developed its own proprietary equipment for Low Pressure Die Casting. This is a relatively newer process in which metal enters into a die in a very controlled and turbulence free manner. An air tight furnace is kept underneath the metallic mold, and under air pressure (upto 25 psi – depending on the size of the casting) the liquid metal rises up from the furnace into the metallic die on top of the furnace. A very good control of the molten metal is achieved in this process resulting in reliable, pressure tight and homogenous parts. Various critical components in the industry are made through this process for eg: Engine blocks of automobiles, cyclinder heads, alloy wheels, crticial electrical components, special purpose pressure tight parts to name a few.
Some Useful Reference Tables for Buyers
Aluminium Alloys And Approximate Equivalents
UK | ISO | EN Provisional | France | Germany | Italy UNI | USA AA/ASTM | USA SAE | Japan |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
LM0 | Al 99.5 | – | A5 | – | 3950 | 150 | – | – |
LM2 | Al-Si10Cu2Fe | 46 100 | A-S9U3-Y4 | – | 5076 | 384 | 383 | ADC 12 |
LM4 | Al-Si5Cu3 | 45 200 | A-S5U3 | G-AlSi6Cu4 (225) | 3052 | 319 | 326 | AC 2A |
LM5 | Al-Mg5Si1 Al-Mg6 | 51 300 | AG6 | G-AlMg5 (244) | 3058 | 514 | 320 | AC 7A |
LM6 | Al-Si12 Al-Si12Fe | 44 100 | AS13 | G-AlSi12 (230) | 4514 | A413 | – | AC 3A |
LM9 | Al-Si10Mg | 43 100 | A-S10G | G-AlSi10Mg (233) | 3049 | A360 | 309 | AC 4A |
LM12 | Al-Cu10Si2Mg | – | A-U10G | – | 3041 | 222 | 34 | – |
LM13 | Al-Si12Cu AlSi12CuFe | 48 000 | A-S12UN | – | 3050 | 336 | 321 | AC8A |
LM16 | Al-Si5Cu1Mg | 45 300 | A-S4UG | – | 3600 | 355 | 322 | AC 4D |
LM20 | Al-Si12Cu AlSi12CuFe | 47 000 | A-S12-Y4 | G-AlSi12(Cu) (231) | 5079 | A413 | 305 | – |
LM21 | Al-Si6Cu4 | 45 000 | A-S5U2 | G-AlSi6Cu4 (225) | 7369 / 4 | 308 | 326 | AC 2A |
LM22 | Al-Si5Cu3 | 45 400 | A-S5U | G-AlSi6Cu4 (225) | 3052 | 319 | 326 | AC 2A |
LM24 | Al-Si8Cu3Fe | 46 500 | A-S9U3A-Y4 | G-AlSi8Cu3 (226) | 5075 / 3601 | A380 | 306 | AC 4B ADC 10 |
LM25 | Al-Si7Mg | 42 000 | A-S7G | G-AlSi7Mg | 3599 | A356 | 323 | AC4C |
LM26 | Al-Si9Cu3Mg | – | A-S7U3G | – | 3050 | 332 | 332 | – |
LM27 | Al-Si7Cu2Mn0.5 | 46 600 | – | – | 7369 | – | – | AC 2B |
LM28 | Al-Si19CuMgNi | – | – | – | 6251 | – | – | – |
LM29 | Al-Si23CuMgNi | – | – | – | 6251 | – | – | – |
LM30 | Al-Si17Cu4Mg | – | – | – | – | 390 | – | – |
LM31 | Al-Zn5Mg | 71 000 | A-Z5G | – | 3602 | 712 | 310 | – |
Aluminium casting process comparison
Sand Casting | Gravity Die Casting | Low Pressure Die Casting | Pressure Die Casting | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dimensional accuracy | Fair | Good | Good | Excellent |
Tooling cost | Excellent | Good | Fair | Poor |
Production runs | Poor | Good | Good | Excellent |
Surface finish | Fair | Good | Good | Excellent |
Pressure tightness | Good | Good | Excellent | Poor |
Castable alloys | Excellent | Good | Good | Fair |
Strength | Good | Good | Excellent | Fair |
Per piece cost | Fair | Good | Excellent | Excellent |
Size limitation | Excellent | Good | Good | Poor |