Die Casting Aluminum
Die casting components can be accomplished with a variety of materials, such as plastic and metals. At American Precision Die Casting, we cast using aluminum alloy 380.
The aluminum die casting process we employ allows us to produce highly detailed and precise parts and products composed of aluminum. By using aluminum alloy 380, we are able to produce strong, durable, high-performing components that are resistant to corrosion.
Die Casting Process
Our die casting process begins with your design. While in the design phase, we will partner with your engineering team to evaluate all tooling features and options which in-turn will help improve die life and minimize potential problems during the casting process. We can also work with you to produce the most cost-effective design by weighing the pros and cons to certain design features and trade-offs.
To assist in the design process, our engineers will use your design to create a computer generated representation of your design. After the computer simulation of your part, we take a look at the design from every perspective. Utilizing our over 200 years of combined experience among our team, we check the design carefully to ensure we can create a product that meets our high standards and your performance specifications.
Every part design is unique and specific to that die cast tool that will be used to cast the component part. We can help you with your tool and trim die design through our local tooling partnerships. We proudly partner with nationally-recognized tool and die makers in our area to build quality, affordable molds, trim dies and fixturing for your components. Whatever your design, our tool and die makers can create durable, precise molds and dies. They work hard to ensure the longevity of your tool and die.
We believe in reducing waste and increasing durability. We are pleased to work with quality tool and die makers. Experience has shown time and again a high level of customer satisfaction and confidence with the molds and trim dies they build and stand behind which represents a tremendous advantage over off-shore tooling. Our tool and die makers use:
- Highest-rated Steel Materials
- Heat Treatment
- Surface Treatments
They work hard to ensure the longevity of your tool and die.
Tool and Die
You often hear the words tool and die used in the same breath. That’s because one without the other would be entirely useless. The die is the mold: it’s the component that is a precise, detailed, mirror-image of the part we’re creating. The die and tool fit together. One won’t work properly without the other.
The tool and die are designed to fit and work together, allowing aluminum to flow in to the mold, form the component we’re casting, and then be cooled quickly by water so our process technicians can handle the component and trim it using our presses. This cold chamber machine process yields several components at once for most of our components because we employ multi-chamber dies. Every component inspected to ensure their quality.
Our Die Casting and Facility Capabilities
Within the 26,000 sq. ft. facility of APDC, our equipment is state-of-the art. With our automated ladlers, reciprocal sprayers, extractors, FANUC robots, shot monitoring system and central spray system, we achieve high-quality repeatability with every component we die cast.
Equipment List
- (3) 900 Ton Aluminum Die Casting Machine
- (3) 700 Ton Aluminum Die Casting Machine
- (2) 450 Ton Aluminum Die Casting Machine
- (2) Automated Robotic Die Casting Cells Utilizing 3 Robots
- (8) 28 Ton Trim Presses
- (8) 2200 Pound Holding Furnaces
- (1) 2600 Pound Crucible Melt Furnace
- (1) 7800 Pound Melt Furnace
- (1) 12,000 Pound Melt Furnace
- (1) 24,000 Pound Melt Furnace
- Related Support and Value Added Equipment
- Tymac Shot Monitoring
Finishing Process
At APDC, we recognize the competitive and essential importance that the customer product needs and critical product requirements are best served when they receive their die cast parts in a completed and finished form.
To consistently achieve as well as surpass this objective, we have built into our business model a unique differentiated value designed to both develop and provide a wide range of key value-added services and integrated solutions that further complement our own core competency of producing high quality aluminum die castings. By remaining focused on our core business of manufacturing aluminum die castings, this initiative enables APDC to direct our capital investment and resources toward the continuous and innovative improvement of this metal casting process. In-turn, APDC has established a strong network and long term partnership with an variety of experienced outside core finishing suppliers to support the machining and finishing specifications as well as expectations of each and every customer.
From this value proposition, APDC can offer our customers an extraordinary level of flexibility, responsiveness, delivery performance and customer service all within the scope of a very structured supply chain through managing the wide range of finishing and machining capabilities in a most efficient manner. While creating a win-win situation, the end-result benefits for our customer can also be found in such internal cost savings areas as inventory management as well as reduction, minimal logistics and management of their own internal and external supply chain, lower labor cost, reduced shipping lead-times to their end customers along with opportunities for the customer to realize greater market share gain further highlighted by the advantages of a dock to stock program thus streamlining receiving and receiving inspection by delivering materials directly to the point of use.
