Casting is a 6000 year old manufacturing process. Casting is a manufacturing process by which a liquid material is usually poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solidified part is also known as a casting, which is ejected or broken out of the mold to complete the process. Casting is most often used for making complex shapes that would be otherwise difficult or uneconomical to make by other methods.

Castings are used in areas like transportation, aerospace, defense, mining, construction, maritime, fluid power, & domestic household. Some cast components include: engine blocks, suspension parts for  auto mobiles, cooling fan components & fluid flow components like valves, pumps, pipes, and fittings. To cut the emissions there is a need to improve the fuel efficiency and make the vehicle lighter in weight. Non ferrous metal like aluminium is lighter than steel and has density one third of that of steel. Aluminium has a lower density of 2.7 gm/cc compared to 7.8 gm/cc of steel. Aluminum and aluminum alloys are lightweight with good corrosion resistance, ductility and strength. Aluminium is a light silver coloured metal placed 13 on the periodic table and is important group 3 element. It has good resistance to corrosion and due to its aesthetics it makes a suitable alloy for varied applications.

Dr. Dinesh & Ramesh is in the process of manufacturing Aluminium castings of various alloys including LM6, LM9, LM25, A356, 413, AlSi8Mg3, AlSi10Mg amongst others.

There are various casting processes including Gravity Die Casting (Permanent Mold Casting), Low Pressure Die Casting, High Pressure Die Casting, Investment Casting, Sand Casting processes. Dr. Dinesh & Ramesh have expertise in the Gravity Die Casting and Low Pressure Die Casting processes since 1979.

In Gravity Die Casting process the metal is filled under the influence of gravity hence the name Gravity Die Casting.  The metal is carefully directed through an ingate under the influence of gravity to fill the die. There are various gates and sprues through which Aluminium enters the dies (usually made of iron alloys).There is provision of various risers to allow proper feeding and give defect free homogenous casting. It is the experience and knowledge of the foundry engineer to provide optimum risering and gating to give defect free parts. Dr. Dinesh & Ramesh has that experience and knowledge of more than 30 years to give customers value and quality. At DRE, we have always been up to speed with technology and have developed various equipments at our facility to increase productivity and sustained quality of our products to our customers.

Dr. Dinesh & Ramesh has also developed its own proprietary equipment for Low Pressure Die Casting. This is a relatively newer process in which metal enters into a die in a very controlled and turbulence free manner. An air tight furnace is kept underneath the metallic mold, and under air pressure (upto 25 psi – depending on the size of the casting) the liquid metal rises up from the furnace into the metallic die on top of the furnace. A very good control of the molten metal is achieved in this process resulting in reliable, pressure tight and homogenous parts. Various critical components in the industry are made through this process for eg: Engine blocks of automobiles, cyclinder heads, alloy wheels, crticial electrical components, special purpose pressure tight parts to name a few.

Some Useful Reference Tables for Buyers

Aluminium Alloys And Approximate Equivalents

UK ISO EN Provisional France Germany Italy UNI USA AA/ASTM USA SAE Japan
LM0 Al 99.5 A5 3950 150
LM2 Al-Si10Cu2Fe 46 100 A-S9U3-Y4 5076 384 383 ADC 12
LM4 Al-Si5Cu3 45 200 A-S5U3 G-AlSi6Cu4 (225) 3052 319 326 AC 2A
LM5 Al-Mg5Si1 Al-Mg6 51 300 AG6 G-AlMg5 (244) 3058 514 320 AC 7A
LM6 Al-Si12 Al-Si12Fe 44 100 AS13 G-AlSi12 (230) 4514 A413 AC 3A
LM9 Al-Si10Mg 43 100 A-S10G G-AlSi10Mg (233) 3049 A360 309 AC 4A
LM12 Al-Cu10Si2Mg A-U10G 3041 222 34
LM13 Al-Si12Cu AlSi12CuFe 48 000 A-S12UN 3050 336 321 AC8A
LM16 Al-Si5Cu1Mg 45 300 A-S4UG 3600 355 322 AC 4D
LM20 Al-Si12Cu AlSi12CuFe 47 000 A-S12-Y4 G-AlSi12(Cu) (231) 5079 A413 305
LM21 Al-Si6Cu4 45 000 A-S5U2 G-AlSi6Cu4 (225) 7369 / 4 308 326 AC 2A
LM22 Al-Si5Cu3 45 400 A-S5U G-AlSi6Cu4 (225) 3052 319 326 AC 2A
LM24 Al-Si8Cu3Fe 46 500 A-S9U3A-Y4 G-AlSi8Cu3 (226) 5075 / 3601 A380 306 AC 4B ADC 10
LM25 Al-Si7Mg 42 000 A-S7G G-AlSi7Mg 3599 A356 323 AC4C
LM26 Al-Si9Cu3Mg A-S7U3G 3050 332 332
LM27 Al-Si7Cu2Mn0.5 46 600 7369 AC 2B
LM28 Al-Si19CuMgNi 6251
LM29 Al-Si23CuMgNi 6251
LM30 Al-Si17Cu4Mg 390
LM31 Al-Zn5Mg 71 000 A-Z5G 3602 712 310

Aluminium casting process comparison

Sand Casting Gravity Die Casting Low Pressure Die Casting Pressure Die Casting
Dimensional accuracy Fair Good Good Excellent
Tooling cost Excellent Good Fair Poor
Production runs Poor Good Good Excellent
Surface finish Fair Good Good Excellent
Pressure tightness Good Good Excellent Poor
Castable alloys Excellent Good Good Fair
Strength Good Good Excellent Fair
Per piece cost Fair Good Excellent Excellent
Size limitation Excellent Good Good Poor