This guide is to help designers and material

specifiers to better understand the capabilities

of zinc casting alloys for product applications.
ADVANTAGES
Zinc casting alloys are versatile engineering
materials. No other alloy system provides the
combinaton of strength, toughness, rigidity,
bearing performance and economical
castability. Listed are zinc alloy attributes
which can reduce component costs. Improving
precision, quality and product performance are
other zinc alloy design advantages discussed in
this brochure.
Process Flexibility: Virtually any casting
process can be used with zinc alloys to satisfy
virtually any quantity and quality requirement.
Precision, high-volume die casting is the most
popular casting process. Zinc alloys can also
be economically gravity cast for lower volumes
using sand, permanent mold, graphite mold
and plaster casting technology.
Precision Tolerances: Zinc alloys are castable
to closer tolerances than other metals or
molded plastics, therefore presenting the
opportunity to reduce or eliminate machining.
"Net Shape"or "Zero Machining"manufacturing
is a major advantage of zinc casting.
Strength & Ductility: Zinc alloys offer high
strengths (to 60,000 psi) and superior
elongation for strong designs and formability
for bending, crimping and riveting operations.
Toughness: Few materials provide the strength
and toughness of zinc alloys. Impact
resistance is significantly higher than cast
aluminium alloys, plastics, and grey cast iron.
Rigidity: Zinc alloys have the rigidity of metals
with modulus of elasticity characteristics
equivalent to other die castable materials.
Stiffness properties are, therefore, far superior
to engineering plastics.
Anti-Sparking: Zinc alloys are nonsparking
and suitable for hazardous location applications
such as coal mines, tankers and refineries.
Bearing Properties: Bushing and wear inserts
in component designs can often be eliminated
because of zinc's excellent bearing properties.
For example, zinc alloys have outperformed
bronze in heavy duty industrial applications.
Easy Finishing: Zinc castings are readily
polished, plated, painted, chromated or
anodized for decorative and/or functional
service.
Thin Wall Castability: High casting fluidity,
regardless of casting process, allows for
thinner wall sections to be cast in zinc
compared to other metal.
Machinability: Fast, trouble-free machining
characteristics of zinc materials minimize tool
wear and machining costs.
Low Energy Costs: Because of their low
melting temperature, zinc alloys require less
energy to melt and cast versus other
engineering alloys.
Long Tool Life: Low casting temperatures
result in less thermal shock and, therefore,
extended life for die casting tools. For
example, tooling life can be more than 10
times that of aluminum dies.
Clean and Recyclable: Zinc alloys are among
the cleanest melting materials available. Zinc
metal is non-toxic, and scrap items are a
reusable resource which are efficiently
recycled.
ZINC ALLOYS
There are two basic families of zinc casting
alloys: ZAMAK alloys and ZA alloys. The
ZAMAK alloys were developed for pressure
die casting during the 1920's and have seen
widespread usage since then. It is for this
reason that specifiers often relate zinc as
synonymous with die casting. However, the
development of the ZA (Zinc-Aluminum) alloys
during the 1970's have radically changed zinc's
product design and manufacturing capabilities.
ZA alloys were initially developed for gravity
casting. Their mechanical properties compete
directly with bronze, cast iron and aluminum
using sand, permanent mold and plaster mold
casting methods. Distinguishing features of
the ZA alloys are their high aluminum content
and excellent bearing properties.
During the 1980's, ZA alloys evolved as
valuable die casting materials. It is important
to note that when considering a ZA alloy for die
casting, only ZA-8 can be hot chamber die cast.
Hot chamber casting (which the ZAMAK alloys
employ) is highly automated and the most
efficient die casting process. ZA-12 and ZA-27
require special melting procedures and must be
die cast like aluminum using the less efficient
cold chamber die casting process.
A brief description of each alloy is provided.
The ZAMAK alloy family is identified by its
numbers 3, 5, 7, & 2. ZA alloys consist of
ZA-8, ZA-12 and ZA-27.
NO. 3
No. 3 alloy is usually the first choice when
considering zinc for die casting. Its excellent
balance of desirable physical and mechanical
properties, superb castability and long-term
dimensional stability are the reasons why over
70% of all North American zinc die castings are
in No. 3 alloy. It is, therefore, the most widely
available alloy from die casting sources.
ZAMAK No. 3 also offers excellent finishing
characteristics for plating, painting and
chromate treatments. It is the "standard"by
which other zinc alloys are rated in terms of
die casting.
NO. 5
No. 5 alloy castings are marginally stronger
and harder than No. 3. However, these
improvements are tempered with a reduction
in ductility which can affect formability during
secondary bending, riveting, swaging or
crimping operations. No. 5 contains an
addition of 1% copper which accounts for
these property changes. The alloy is widely
die cast in Europe and does exhibit excellent
castability characteristics, as well as, improved
creep performance over No. 3.
Because of No. 3's wide availabity, material
specifiers often strengthen components by
design modifications instead of using No. 5.
However, when an extra measure of tensile
performance is needed, No. 5 alloy castings
are recommended. The alloy is readily plated,
finished and machined, comparable to No. 3
alloy.
NO. 7
No. 7 alloy is a modification of No. 3 alloy.
Lower magnesium content and tighter
impurities specification result in improved
casting fluidity, ductility and surface finish.
Most No. 7 is used for special hardware
applications, or when castings require extra
formability during assembly operations.
Higher fluidity is sometimes desirable, however,
it does present special casting considerations.
No. 7 alloy requires good die fit, casting
temperature and machine control to avoid
excessive flashing along parting lines.
Because of high ductility, flash break-off in
vibratory and automated deburring
equipment is more difficult. Also, better fits
on trim dies may be required to obtain a
clean trim.
NO. 2
No. 2 is the only ZAMAK alloy which is used for
gravity casting; mainly for metal forming dies
or plastic injection tools. This alloy is
sometimes referred to as KIRKSITE.
For die casting, No. 2 offers the highest
strength and hardness of the ZAMAK family.
However, its high copper content (3%) results
in property changes upon long term aging.
These changes include slight dimensional
growth (0.0014 in/in/after 20 yrs.), lower
elongation and reduced impact performance
(to levels similar to aluminum alloys) for die
cast products.
Although No. 2 alloy exhibits excellent
castability, it has seen limited use by die
casters in North America. It does, however,
provide some interesting characteristics which
may assist designers. Its creep performance is
rated higher than the other ZAMAKS and No. 2
maintains higher strength and hardness levels
after long term aging. Also, preliminary
investigations suggest No. 2 alloy is a good
bearing material, and may eliminate bushings
and wear inserts in die cast designs.
ZA-8
A good gravity casting alloy, ZA-8 is rapidly
growing for pressure die casting. ZA-8 can be
hot chamber die cast, with improved strength,
hardness and creep properties over ZAMAKS,
with the exception of a No. 2 alloy which is
very similar in performance. ZA-8 is readily
plated and finished using standard procedures
for ZAMAKS. When the performance of
standard No. 3 or No. 5 is in question, ZA-8 is
often the die casting choice because of high
strength and creep properties and efficient hot
chamber castability.
ZA-12
ZA-12 is the most versatile zinc alloy in terms
of combining high performance properties and
ease of fabrication using either gravity or
pressure die casting. ZA-12 is the best gravity
casting alloy for sand, permanent mold and the
new graphite mold casting process. It is also a
good pressure die casting alloy (cold chamber)
which provides a sounder structure than ZA-27,
as well as higher die cast elongation and
impact properties. For these reasons, die cast
ZA-12 often competes with ZA-27 for strength
application. An excellent bearing alloy, ZA-12
is also platable, although plating adhesion is
reduced compared to the ZAMAK alloys.
ZA-27
ZA-27 is the high strength performer of the
zinc alloys whether for gravity or pressure die
casting (cold chamber). It is also the lightest
alloy and offers excellent bearing and wear
resistance properties. ZA-27, however,
requires care during melting and casting to
assure sound internal structure, particularly
for heavy wall sections. It may also need a
stabilization heat treatment when tight
dimensional tolerances are required. ZA-27 is
not recommended for plating. However, when
brute strength or wear resistant properties are
needed, ZA-27 has demonstrated extraordinary
performance.
ZINC CASTING ALLOYS