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Thin walls, complex geometry and seconds per shot, in recycled aluminium.

Aluminium die casting

We die cast aluminium brackets, housings and fittings to your drawing, in series, for companies that need thin walls and many identical parts. High pressure die casting is the process behind most of the parts we make.

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High pressure die casting · aluminium

Aluminium die casting in Norway

Aluminium die casting in Norway, at our plant in Råde: molten aluminium is forced into a steel die under high pressure and freezes in seconds. That gives thin walls, complex geometry and parts that stay very consistent through the whole series.

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The process

What aluminium die casting is

Aluminium melts at 660 °C and is cast here at 680–700 °C. The melt is dosed into a shot sleeve and forced under high pressure into a high-alloy steel die. The cavity fills in a fraction of a second. The metal freezes against the cooled steel, the die opens, and ejector pins push the part out.

Then comes the operation most often underestimated in a costing: degating. Runner, overflows and flash have to come off. That is manual work, and it is one of the five things that decide what the part costs. A die that is well gated from the start, and a part drawn with deflashing in mind, saves that cost on every single part for the life of the series.

The feedstock is secondary aluminium, meaning remelted metal from car parts, beverage cans and facade products. It arrives as ingot from Metallco at Toten in Norway, re-alloyed to full casting specifications against international standards. Remelting takes a fraction of the energy of primary production.

Before you choose a process: Aluminium casting compares die casting and gravity die casting, and What does a casting tool cost? explains the investment that comes with die casting.

Suitability

When aluminium die casting is right — and when it is not

Choose aluminium HPDC when

  • Weight is a cost in the product. 2.7 g/cm³ is roughly a third of steel.
  • The geometry is complex: ribs, bosses, channels and mounting lugs in one part, that would otherwise be welded up from several pieces.
  • Walls are thin and volume is high. Cycle time is measured in seconds, not minutes.
  • The part is to be anodised or powder coated.
  • Corrosion resistance without a coating is an advantage.
  • The part has to be recyclable as metal at end of life.

Choose something else when

  • The part must be heat treated to reach its strength requirement. Pressure die cast parts normally are not heat treated — entrapped gas expands and blisters. Then gravity casting is the route.
  • The detail is very fine, or the wall has to be thinner than aluminium manages. Then zinc is better.
  • The series is well below a few thousand parts a year or per order. Then the tool rarely pays for itself, and gravity die casting may be an alternative.
  • The part can be folded from flat sheet without losing function.
  • The part is large and heavy and needs sections a die casting machine is not sized for.

Example

Pressure tightness and a bearing fit — straight from the die

One of the brackets we make for garden equipment is die cast in aluminium with critical tolerances for a bearing fit and for pressure tightness. The tolerances are held as cast.

The bracket is not machined afterwards.

That is worth noting, because many people assume cast parts always have to be machined on the critical faces. That is often true, but not always. With the die, the gating and the process right from the start, die casting can hold tolerances that would otherwise need a set-up in the CNC machine.

That is part of what the design review settles. Every face that can be held as cast is one operation saved on every part in the series.

See the garden equipment bracket

Data sheet

Specifications — aluminium die casting

The table shows what we have documented. The rest reads “Available on request” until the figures have been verified. Ask us about what matters for your part.

Machine park

Processes in house
Pressure die casting (aluminium and zinc), gravity die casting, CNC turning, CNC milling, boring, heat treatment, blasting
Processes we do not have
Sand casting, toolmaking, anodising, powder coating
CAM software
Autodesk Fusion 360
Number of die casting machines
Available on request
Clamping force
Available on request
Hot or cold chamber
Available on request
Maximum shot weight
Available on request
Platen size and maximum die height
Available on request
Gravity casting stations
Available on request
Maximum mould size, gravity
Available on request
Melting furnaces and melting capacity
Available on request
CNC lathes
Available on request
Maximum turning diameter and length
Available on request
CNC mills
Available on request
Milling work envelope
Available on request
Boring machine
Available on request
Heat treatment furnace
Available on request
Blasting equipment
Available on request
Automation
Available on request
Machining operations
CNC turning, CNC milling, boring, tapping, sawing, grinding
Machining experience
More than 30 years
Number of axes, milling
Available on request
Heat treatment applies to
Gravity die cast aluminium parts
Heat treatment — effect
Higher tensile strength and higher ultimate strength
Tempers we run
Available on request
Blasting
In house
Anodising
Via subcontractor — aluminium only, zinc cannot be anodised
Powder coating
Via subcontractor
Finishing subcontractors
Available on request
Die ownership
The customer owns the tool. We procure it, specify it for our machines and maintain it.
Typical tooling cost
Available on request
Die life, aluminium
Available on request
Die life, zinc
Available on request
Storage and insurance of customer-owned dies
Available on request
Shift pattern
Available on request

Alloys

Metals
Aluminium and zinc
Feedstock form
Ingot from established suppliers
Aluminium supplier
Metallco, Toten, Norway — secondary aluminium realloyed against international standards
Aluminium melting point
660 °C
Aluminium casting temperature
680–700 °C
Alloy selection
Made together with the customer, as part of the design review
Aluminium alloys, pressure die casting
Available on request
Aluminium alloys, gravity
Available on request
Zinc alloys
Available on request
Customer-specified alloy
Available on request
Material certificate
Available on request
Melt and batch traceability
Available on request
Recycled content
Available on request

Part sizes

Part weight
From a few grams to several kilos Estimate
Maximum part envelope
Available on request
Maximum projected area
Available on request
Minimum wall thickness, aluminium
Available on request
Minimum wall thickness, zinc
Available on request
Minimum wall thickness, gravity
Available on request
Minimum draft angle
Available on request
Minimum cored hole
Available on request
Insert casting
Available on request
Multi-cavity tooling
Available on request

Further down the chain

The next links

CNC machining

Faces and holes needing tighter tolerances than casting delivers.

Surface finishing

Blasting here. Anodising and powder coating by a subcontractor, coordinated by us.

Gravity die casting

The alternative when the part must be heat treated or the series is smaller.

Send the drawing

An answer after a technical review. An estimate on a sketch, a formal quotation on final files.

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Related capabilities

Zinc die casting

Thin walls, sharp detail and long die life. Very few Norwegian suppliers offer it.

Aluminium casting

Die casting or gravity die casting? We help you choose, and cast the part in Råde.

Gravity die casting

Lower tooling cost, smaller series and parts that can be heat treated for more strength.

Want us to look at your part?

Send the drawing and the quantities you have in mind. We look at wall thickness, draft angles, radii and parting line before we work out a price.

Send a drawing

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