Gravity die casting is one of the right process to creat aluminum castings, which employs reusable molds made out of steel or iron. Gravity die casting is often recommended as an alternative to sand casting and high pressure die casting for aluminum components. Gravity die cast mold employs a reusable steel mold like high pressure die casting as opposed to a sand mold’s one-time use and can incorporate sand cores to create complex shapes with internal cavities and undercuts.
Gravity die casting is the right aluminum casting solution when you:
- Have a order quantity between 500-100,000 of the same part per year.
- Require a +/- 0.015” tolerance in dimensional accuracy, high surface finish and consistent mechanical properties.
- Fabricating am aluminum assembly using several parts and incurring inventory and production costs.
- Require volume of product cast but can’t afford the higher mold cost of high pressure die cast.
Key Benefits of Gravity Die Casting
1) Dimensional Accuracy
Next to high pressure die casting, gravity die casting is the most reliable process that produces dimensionally and visually consistent aluminum parts.
2) Permanent Mold
The mold of gravity die casting is permanent, typically last 100,000 cycles before needing replacement. Additionally, in some cases you can avoid replacement by refurbishing molds and by removing or adding features (to the mold) when necessary.
3) Reduce Cost
If you’re using the fabrication or sand casting processes, the shift to gravity die casting process can result in reducing the cost of aluminum castings. Depending on features of the part we’re able to introduce multiple cavities, creating the potential for a higher number of total finished parts per life of the tool.
Woking With CFS for Your Gravity Die Casting Project
CFS Foundry is vertically integrated with in-house processes including sand cores, machining, heat treating, coating, and assembly. Our aluminum foundry has decades of experience in gravity die casting for customers in many industries including aerospace, medical, transportation, and construction, providing extensive knowledge and expertise.
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