This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy, processing effects on physical and mechanical properties, and application characteristics of Al-Si-Mg general-purpose die-casting alloys 360.0 and A360.0.

This article summarizes some general alloy groupings by application or major characteristics. The groupings include cast rotor, general-purpose, elevated-temperature, wear-resistant, moderate-strength, high-strength, and high-integrity die casting alloys and cast aluminum alloys bearings. A table lists selected applications for aluminum casting alloys.

Aluminum casting alloys are the most versatile of all common foundry alloys and generally have the highest castability ratings. This article discusses the designation and classification of aluminum casting alloys based on their composition and the factors influencing alloy selection. Alloys discussed include rotor alloys, commercial duralumin alloys, premium casting alloys, piston and elevated-temperature alloys, general-purpose alloys, magnesium alloys, aluminum-zinc-magnesium alloys, and bearing alloys. Six basic types of aluminum alloys developed for casting include aluminum-copper, aluminum-copper-silicon, aluminum-silicon, aluminum-magnesium, aluminum-zinc-magnesium, and aluminum-tin. The article also describes the main casting processes for aluminum alloys, which include die casting, permanent mold casting, sand casting (green sand and dry sand), plaster casting, and investment casting. In addition, the article discusses factors affecting the mechanical and physical properties, microstructural features that affect mechanical properties, the effects of alloying, and major applications of aluminum casting alloys.

Aluminum alloys are primarily used for nonferrous castings because of their light weight and corrosion resistance. This article discusses at length the melting and metal treatment, structure control, sand casting, permanent mold casting, and die casting of aluminum alloys. It also covers the types and melting and casting practices of copper alloys, zinc alloys, magnesium alloys, titanium alloys, and superalloys, and provides a brief account on the casting technique of metal-matrix composites.

The 443 series of aluminum casting alloys have nominal silicon content of 5 wt% with various limits on iron, copper, manganese and magnesium. They are hypoeutectic AI-Si binary alloys with high ductility, very good corrosion resistance, good machinability, but only fair castability, and low strength. The alloys are used in castings where above average ductility coupled with excellent corrosion resistance is needed. This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy, fabrication characteristics, processing effects on physical and mechanical properties, and application characteristics of these alloys.

This article discusses the types of squeeze-casting machines and the advantages of squeeze casting. It examines the considerations required for the casting and tooling design process of squeeze-casting. The article describes the various factors that affect the squeeze-cast products and outlines a few of the key process characteristics. It provides information on the applications of squeeze-cast and contains a table that compares the tensile, hardness, and impact properties of select squeeze-cast aluminum alloys with those obtained from conventional casting processes.

This article begins with a description of indirect and direct semisolid metalworking processes. It then provides information on alloy compositions of common aluminum semisolid metalworking alloys and primary die-cast magnesium alloys in a tabular form. The article describes the macroscopic examination of defects, which occur in semisolid metalworking with illustrations. It discusses the macroscopic examination of gating systems and semisolid feedstocks. The article also provides information on feedstock microstructures, direct semisolid metalworking component microstructures, and indirect semisolid metalworking component microstructures of series 300 aluminum casting alloys and magnesium die-casting alloys.

Alloy 365.0 and A365.0 are developed near eutectic Al-Si die-casting alloys with additions of manganese to reduce die soldering. This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy, processing effects on tensile properties, and fabrication characteristics of these 3xxx series alloys.

Aluminum casting alloys are among the most versatile of all common foundry alloys and generally have high castability ratings. This article provides an overview of the common methods of aluminum shape casting. It discusses the designations of aluminum casting alloys categorized by the Aluminum Association designation system. The article summarizes the basic composition groupings of aluminum casting alloy and discusses the effects of specific alloying elements and impurities. The characteristics of the important casting processes are summarized and compared in a table. The article presents the advantages and disadvantages of green sand casting, permanent mold casting, semipermanent mold casting, and high-pressure die casting. A discussion on other casting processes, such as investment casting, lost foam, plaster mold casting, pressure casting, centrifugal casting, and semisolid casting, is also included.

Aluminum casting alloys are the most versatile of all common foundry alloys and generally have the highest castability ratings. This article provides an overview of the common methods of aluminum shape casting. These include gravity casting, die casting, sand casting, lost foam casting, shell mold casting, plaster casting, investment casting, permanent mold casting, squeeze casting, semisolid forming, centrifugal casting, and pressure die casting. The article presents several different factors on which the selection of a casting process depends. It discusses gating and risering principles in casting. The article concludes with information on premium engineered castings that provide higher levels of quality and reliability than in conventionally produced castings.

Alloy 362.0, low-iron premium die-casting alloy, is made from recycled secondary metal scrap and was developed to have equivalent or better mechanical properties than Silafont-36 and/or Aural-2. This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy, processing effects on physical and mechanical properties, and applications of this alloy.

Aluminum casting alloys are the most versatile of all common foundry alloys and generally have the highest castability ratings. Aluminum alloy castings are routinely produced by pressure-die, permanent-mold, green and dry-sand, investment, and plaster casting. This article describes factors affecting the selection of casting process and the general designation system for aluminum alloys. It provides useful information on mechanical test methods, selection of proper test specimens for accurate test methods, characteristics of premium engineered castings, and advantages of hot isostatic pressing.

Magnesium and its alloys are among the most difficult metals to prepare for metallographic examination. This article describes specimen preparation processes, including sectioning, mounting, grinding, and polishing. It discusses macro and microexamination techniques as well as related etching processes, including macroetching and color etching based on polarized light enhancement. The article concludes with an overview of the effects of alloying elements, including aluminum, beryllium, calcium, copper, iron, lithium, manganese, rare earth metals, silicon, silver, strontium, thorium, tin, zinc, and zirconium.

The aluminum alloys 367.0 and 368.0 are high-performance, low-iron, die-casting alloys that rely on strontium for die soldering resistance. In these alloys, the lower iron content minimizes the formation of needle-like, Al-Fe-Si phases that can deteriorate strength, elongation and fatigue behavior. This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy, processing effects on tensile properties, and fabrication characteristics of these 3xxx series alloys.

Nearly two-thirds of the aluminum castings made in North America are produced using high-pressure die casting techniques. This article compares and contrasts traditional high-pressure die casting with an improved version that uses a vacuum to pull air out of the die in order to reduce porosity in as-cast parts. It begins by describing a typical cycle for a traditional cold-chamber die casting machine, using detailed illustrations to show how gas can become trapped in the liquid metal. It then presents various remedies, ultimately focusing on vacuum die casting for the production of high-integrity parts. In addition to vacuum technology, the article discusses casting alloys, dies, and cells, and describes some of the benefits of structural die castings.

This article focuses on the variety of alloys, furnaces, and associated melting equipment as well as the casting methods available for manufacturing magnesium castings. These methods include sand casting, permanent mold casting, die casting, thixomolding, and direct chill casting. The article discusses the flux process and fluxless process for the melting and pouring of magnesium alloys. It describes the advantages and disadvantages of green sand molding and tabulates typical compositions and properties of magnesium molding sands. The article provides information on the machining characteristics of magnesium and the applications of magnesium alloys.

This article describes the systems for designating the aluminum and aluminum alloys that incorporate the product forms (wrought, casting or foundry ingots) and its respective temper for strain-hardened alloys, heat-treatable alloys and annealed alloys. All these systems are covered by American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard H35.1. Furthermore, the article provides a short note on the designation of unregistered tempers.

This article discusses the effects of heavy metal impurities, environmental factors, the surface condition (such as as-cast, treated, and painted), and the assembly practice on the corrosion resistance of a magnesium or a magnesium alloy part. It provides information on stress-corrosion cracking and galvanic corrosion of magnesium alloys, as well as the surface protection of magnesium assemblies achieved by inorganic surface treatments.

This article begins with a discussion on the corrosion characteristics of unalloyed magnesium and two major magnesium alloy systems. It shows the effects of iron and 13 other elements on the saltwater corrosion performance of magnesium in binary alloys with increasing levels of the individual elements. The article illustrates the effect of increasing iron, nickel, and copper contamination on the standard ASTM B 117 salt-spray performance of the die-cast AZ91 test specimens as compared to the range of performance observed for cold-rolled steel and die-cast aluminum alloy 380 samples. It discusses the effect of heat treating and cold working on the corrosion rates of the die-cast AZ91 alloy. The article concludes with a description on the causes of corrosion failures in magnesium alloys.

The strength of aluminum castings can be improved significantly by heat treatments, which control the size, shape, and distribution of the impurity elements in the casting. This article presents a discussion on the heat treatment of aluminum alloy castings, with a focus on the fundamental technical aspects involved in each process step. The intent is to convey a good understanding of the fundamental aspects of heat treatment. Typical heat treatments of aluminum casting alloys are presented in a table. The article describes the solution heat treatment, quenching, and preaging of Al-Si-Mg alloys, as well as the solution heat treatment and artificial aging of Al-Si-Cu-Mg casting alloys.