What are the advantages and disadvantages of each aluminum casting process?

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Date

December 19, 2023

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Aluminum casting is the process of introducing molten aluminum into a cavity to create a part. Aluminum is the most common metal used for casting process because of its relatively low melting point and low viscosity.

There are various types of aluminum casting they include –

  1. Aluminum Sand Casting – It is the process of forming aluminum into a mold pattern formed in the sand. Almost 60% of all the metals are produced using sand casting process and most aluminum castings are made in sand molds.
aluminum casting in Canada

Advantages –

  • Cost of tooling is low and this makes it cheapest casting method.
  • It is ideally suited for lower volume needs.
  • Sand moulds can withstand higher temperature and can be used with many different materials
  • They are great for prototyping and small production runs
  • Sand can be used to create moulds of complex shapes, varied sizes making it useful for large variety of design
  • Using the right finish with these moulds can give excellent surface texture
  • Patterns used to create moulds can be reused many times with minimal wear during production
  • The casting is eco-friendly as sand can be recycled to be reused ensuring minimum waste and cost.

Disadvantages-

  • Low strength
  • Low dimensional accuracy
  • Poor surface finish
  • Prone to defects
  • Need finishing.
  • Aluminum Die casting – It is a process that can produce geometrically complex metal parts using reusable die casting molds, called dies. The process involves use of die casting machine, die, aluminum and furnace.

Advantages –

  • The process produces solid and durable parts.
  • It produces very light weight parts as aluminum is one of the lightest metals making the process ideal for use in applications where weight is a concern.
  • Aluminum is highly corrosion resistance making it apt for applications where exposure to the elements is a concern.
  • Sustainable option because aluminum is recyclable material
  • Cost-effective and simple process with no requirement of expensive equipment or materials.

Disadvantages-

  • Aluminum die casting is a high cost process as they are produced on small batches
  • Long lead times
  • Offers limited design flexibility
  • Susceptible to porosity
  • Significant amount of material is wasted during production.
  • Aluminum permanent mold casting- The process involves use of reusable molds.

Advantages –

  • Has high dimensional accuracy and low surface roughness
  • High strength, hardness and abrasion
  • Less sand cores and used thus saving modeling materials

Disadvantages-

  • Process is tough and adjustment cycle is long
  • Not possible to produce large castings
  • Metal mold has poor gas permeability
  • Aluminum investment casting – It is the process to make investment casting tool to create complex designs.

Advantages –

  • High-quality finish
  • Complex shapes
  • Material reusability
  • Complex shapes can be casted
  • Tight tolerances

Disadvantages-

  • Porosity
  • Shrinkage crack
  • Misrun
  • Deformation
  • Cold shuts.
  • Aluminum Lost Foam Casting- It is a process to create small to medium complex products from aluminum using castings made of polystyrene foam patterns.

Advantages-

  • Suits all shapes – complex or simple
  • Freely design castings with complex cavities
  • Saves energy
  • Minimize costs
  • Improves casting quality.

Disadvantages-

  • Low volume applications
  • More expensive
  • Castings are of less strength susceptible easily to damage

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