On many occasions, I have come across specifications or standards   that contain rigid requirement which result in the exclusion of zinc die castings as a viable option. In many cases, these specs are unwarranted and have no engineering data to support it.  In some cases, we suspect they were put in place simply to eliminate zinc die castings as an option.  

Please add a comment below if you are aware of other specifications or standards that appear to incorrectly exclude zinc die castings.

Is offshore die casting really cheaper or is it just an illusion?

Well, almost anyone that has purchased zinc die castings overseas will tell you one horror story after the other. You can read about them here: http://www.diecasting.org/media/offshore.htm.

Here is a sanpshot of the top seven reasons you won't save money by going overseas. In fact, you may end up paying a much higher price in the end.

1. Market Share at Risk You may create a new competitor for your product. The competing product can be developed using your marketing information, specifications, and even tooling.
2. Technology at Risk  It’s dangerous to reveal secret technology to an offshore supplier. You may find your technology shared with your competitors—at home or abroad. 
3. Miscommunication  Extra costs are built in to the process of communicating die design changes and assuring their proper implementation despite barriers of language, distance, and culture.
4. Long Lead Times Long offshore production lead times and delays are common. If a company’s crystal ball is cloudy and product demand soars or drops, commitments to overseas suppliers can’t be easily altered. Short-term cancellations are virtually impossible.
5. The Price of Die Failure Low die costs may be based on uncertified, untreated die steel, with no guarantees of tooling life—foreshadowing the heavy costs of premature die failure. 
6. Legal Liabilities The use of uncertified, off-spec alloy often contributes to the low prices offered by offshore die casters. This factor can be a time bomb for manufacturers, leading to a high risk of product failures when such components are incorporated in products.
7. Payment Sight Unseen Because of advance payment requirements—no ifs, ands, or buts—you have no right to review shipment quality or quantity before cash changes hands. 
   

YES!  Zinc alloys do not contain any elements above the threshold as required by all the EU directives.  In fact these elements are found well below these thresholds. 

For more information regarding the EU Directives please read our latest NADCA article entitled "A Basic Understanding of the EU Directives and How They Affect North American Zinc Die Casters" at:

http://www.eazall.com/brochures/EUDirectives.pdf

One of the services my department provides to our customers is "Defect Analysis". And this is one of the most frequently used. In fact, customers that have used this service continue to request it over and over again.
There are many consultants in the die casting industry today. Most of whom have many years of hands on experience, and they offer valuable services using techniques they learned over the years. However, Eastern Alloys is one of the only companies which also use metallurgical techniques when analyzing defects. This type of service requires:

• An understanding of the die casting process
• A knowledge of die casting defects
• Training how to use metallurgical techniques when diagnosing defects.

To offer this free service, Eastern Alloys has always staffed Metallurgical Engineers who understand the die casting process, and are trained at analyzing die casting defects.
 
Some defects can be solved by examining the hydraulics of the die casting machine, using shot traces, examining how molten metal flows through the runner system, or measuring process parameters such as die temperature, lubrication amounts, etc…. These are techniques that should be used by all die casters; however, uncovering the real cause of defects often requires a closer look, using metallurgical techniques.  
 
Below are two examples where a "closer look" was required, resulting in a correct analysis and subsequent "fix". 

Figure 1
Part Design:  Often defects are caused by poor design. In this instance, a zinc die cast rivet was cracking during use. The die casting machine appeared to be running optimally, and a general observation showed that the casting was of good quality. After using metallurgical techniques to examine the casting at a microscopic level, a small shrinkage crack was found at the location of a sharp corner which happened to be the same area where the cracking occurred. A radius was added to eliminate the sharp corner causing the shrinkage crack, and the defect was eliminated.

Figure 2

Plating Defects:  It is difficult to analyze plating defects, and often disagreements occur between the electroplater and die caster regarding the cause of the defect.  This particular instance showed that the fine surface defects appeared only in the plating layer, and did not have any associated die casting defects.  Using metallurgical techniques provided the required information and data necessary to find the real cause of defects, and helped stop the disagreements over the hypothetical possibilities.