When you’ve designed a part and are ready to partner with a die caster, you must know that you’re working with the best. Unfortunately, finding the right partner to cast your part can be difficult unless you have a relationship with an established, reputable die casting supplier.
Most people believe that choosing a die caster for aluminum, magnesium, or zinc die cast metals simply comes down to cost. While cost carries great weight in decision-making, a good die caster will offer much more than a competitive price. They’ll provide you with full services and post-production capabilities to save you time and money in the long run.
Services like design engineering, mold flow simulation, and various post-casting processes, such as CNC machining, deburring, painting, plating, assembly, and total quality management, can sometimes be overlooked, but these services can prove valuable. So when you work with a full-service die caster, make sure that these additional services and operations are part of the quote – that way, there are no surprises when you’re ready to move forward with the production of your part.
Benefits of working with a Full-Service Die Caster
Choosing to go with a single full-service die caster rather than managing multiple processes and vendors on your own can help free up your company’s resources, decrease lead times, streamline logistics and inventory management, and save money. In addition, it can result in improved designs and lower total cost because the full-service die caster will look for ways to add value across all of the processes.
Before building a tool for your metal die casting design, ensure your engineering team and the die caster are on the same page. At Chicago White Metal, our die casting engineers will engage with you to fully understand your product, its cosmetic and performance requirements, and its intended environment. With that understanding, our engineers can help optimize your design for maximum performance and overall value. In addition, the die casting engineer’s preplanning and analysis can recommend cost-saving measures — or prevent costly mistakes over the project life.
Another critical question during this process is whether or not the die casting supplier utilizes advanced technology, such as process simulation software (e.g., Magmasoft®), before the tool is built. Using your CAD file, CWM can use the software to predict and optimize metal flow, air entrapment, metal velocity, thermal balance, hotspots, etc., during the die casting process. This will ensure a quality die casting design, shorten lead times, and lower production costs.
Trust is the Name of the Game
The final question that your team should ask before choosing a die casting partner is whether or not you can trust that they will be there for you and your team throughout the process to produce the best possible part. Many factors contribute to the success of your project. Even the alloy choice (CWM offers aluminum, zinc, and magnesium) is essential because each has unique properties with advantages and disadvantages. If your product requires post-finishing, it’s even more important to choose the suitable alloy because the physical properties of each alloy may or may not work with each type of finish.
While alloy recommendation is crucial for the success of your project, finishing options are equally important. It’s vital to ensure that your die casting supplier understands all the finishing options available and can guide you to the right finish. The die casting engineer must know all these variables from the project onset to avoid costly quality issues later. Our team at CWM takes these things into consideration when working on every project.
Experience matters, and with 84 years of experience and counting, CWM sets the industry standard for excellence. If you have any questions about the high-pressure die casting process, don’t hesitate to contact Chicago White Metal today. One of our experienced team members will happily help guide you in the right direction!
