Which Process is More Advisable for Cast Parts, Sand or Die Casting?
Die casting and sand casting are the two most frequently-used fabricating processes for metal parts. These two kinds of processing technologies have some common features, but essentially have very distinct methods of manufacturing process.
Material selections for the two manufacturing methods
For sand casting process, there are a relatively wide range of metal grade to be adopted. The most commonly utilized materials involve aluminum, magnesium, ductile iron, grey iron, and steel. Die cast parts have smaller capabilities to use metal grades, usually in non-ferrous metal material, such as aluminum, magnesium and zinc alloy metal combinations.
The forming process of cast parts by each manufacturing technology
Both sand and die casting employ prepared moulds to shape up one or more cavities, then heat the selected material to a molten state and inject it to infill the cavity. After the cycle is formed, your casting is now created.
Sand casting molds are created by padding sand into each half of the molds. The sand is padded around the pattern, which is a copy of the outer shape of the cast parts. What time the pattern is removed, the cavity forms the cast part and remains. The complicated inner shape of the casting, which cannot be built by the pattern, is formed by inner core inserts which are made of sand before the mold is formed. Once the part is formed, the sand mold is destroyed and the sand casting is removed.
Similarly, die casting also needs a mould and tooling insert to manufacture the part, nevertheless, the patterns could be more complicated and be recycled and reused for masses of pieces. The die casting process includes injecting molten meta into the mould under high pressure. The molten metal is in immediate contact with the mould during the whole die casting process. The standard die cast mould must resist high pressure and ultra high temperature during the manufacturing process.
The die casting process costs a greater expenses than that of sand casting, owing to the desired machines for die casting and cost of special steel for manufacturing mould.
In spite of the higher cost, die casting services are the ideal option for mass production of parts. In addition, die casting is a desirable way to control any possible porosity problems.
Sand casting is more cost effective for projects that only need smaller quantities. Each process has ability to create high-grade cast parts, but each processing method possesses its own advantages and disadvantages for parts production. As a professional die casting company, we concentrate on mass production of die castings made of aluminum alloy or zinc alloy materials.
| |
Sand Casting |
Die Casting |
| Dimensional Tolerances |
±.010″ ±.030″ |
±.001″ ±.015″ |
| Relative Cost – High Part Quantity |
Low |
Lowest |
| Relative Cost – Low Part Quantity |
Lowest |
Highest |
| Weight Range |
Unlimited |
oz. – 75 lb |
| Minimum Wall Thickness |
1/10″ |
1/32″ |
| RMS Finish |
150 – 350 |
63 – 90 |
| Draft Angle (Degrees) |
1 – 5 |
1/2 – 2 |
| Design Complexity/Detail |
Fair-good |
Good |
Relative Ease of Design
Changes In Production |
Best |
Poorest |
| Alloys |
Most Ferrous / Non-ferrous Metals |
Al, Zinc, Mag Alloy combinations |