Alloys Tailored to meet your needs: General Purpose and
Special High Strength Alloys.
ZAMAK alloys are the standard general purpose die casting
alloys, exhibiting an excellent combination of cost, strength, ductility,
impact strength and finishing characteristics. They are the designer's first
choice when considering die casting.
ZA alloys are the family of new high strength zinc-aluminum
engineering materials. They exhibit the highest yield strengths of all
conventionally die cast materials and have superior high temperature
performance compared to the ZAMAK alloys. They also offer bearing and wear
characteristics superior to conventional bronze bearing.
While the ZAMAK alloys are mainly die casting alloys, the
entire ZA family can be used for sand, permanent mold and die casting, as well
as in centrifugal, investment, plaster, and continuous casting.
The ZA alloys mainly in terms of their higher aluminum
content. The numerical digits (8, 12 and 27) represent their respective
approximate weight percentages of aluminum.
ZA alloys are specialty materials and therefore are not as
universally available as the ZAMAK alloys. When die cast, only ZA-8 can be
"hot-chamber" cast which is the most cost effective and flexible die casting
process. ZA-12 and ZA-27 must be "cold chamber" die cast similar to aluminum
alloys.
Major Alloy Characteristics
ZAMAK 2: This is the strongest and hardest
ZAMAK alloy. Generally die cast, it is occasionally employed for gravity
casting. ZAMAK 2 is not the widely used.
ZAMAK 3: This is the most used general
purpose zinc die casting alloy, providing an excellent combination of strength,
ductility and impact strength. It also provides excellent plating and finishing
characteristics. This alloy is the designer's first choice for die casting
applications.
ZAMAK 5: ZAMAK 5 should be considered when
moderately greater hardness, strength and creep resistance over ZAMAK 3 is
required.
ZAMAK 7: this is a high purity for of ZAMAK 3
with similar mechanical properties. However, ZAMAK 7 has higher ductility (for
forming bending operations) and the highest casting fluidity of the ZAMAK
family.
ZA-8: This should be the first choice when
considering die casting the ZA family, due to its cost effective hot chamber
castability. ZA-8 provides improved performance characteristics over the ZAMAK
alloys. Plating and finishing characteristics are similar. ZA-8 can also be
sand or permanent mold cast.
ZA-12: This is the preferred alloy for
permanent mold applications, although it can also be cal-chamber die cast with
excellent results. It combines low temperature melting efficiency and thin wall
capabilities with premium mechanical properties. ZA-12 should be used when
switching from cast iron or permanent molded aluminum. ZA-21 can
usually be
poured directly into molds designed for aluminum and brass.
ZA-27: Components requiring optimum strength,
hardness and light weight should be specified using ZA-27. With over double the
yield strength of die cast A380 aluminum and 25% lighter than ZAMAK 3, this is
definitely the high performance member of the group. ZA-27 also offers
excellent bearing properties, comparable to those of aluminum-bronze.