Die Interaction

Better Lubricants/Plunger Tips

— Key to Better Die Casting
Paul Robbins, General Manager
CASTOOL
Uxbridge, Ontario

The Moment of Casting Maintaining the Gap

The plunger, moving smoothly with a minimum of lubrica- The maximum gap between the plunger tip and the shot
tion, pushes a measured amount of molten alloy through sleeve during the casting process is 0.004˝. If at any time
a round and straight shot sleeve and injects it into the die during the shot the gap exceeds that, the alloy is likely
cavity, where it almost instantly hardens. In that moment to penetrate the space, and flash or blowby will occur.
when the liquid alloy is converted into a solid casting, most This will inevitably cause excessive wear on both plunger
of the added value — the die caster’s livelihood — is gen- and sleeve.
erated. This is the crux of the die casting process and may It is essential, therefore, that a gap of less than 0.004˝ be
be fairly termed, “The moment of casting.” maintained at all times during the casting cycle. If the gap
At one time, in the quest for increased productivity, becomes much less than that, there is a danger of interfer-
the component of the die casting process that had the ence and inconsistent shot velocity. Scrap will result. The
greatest potential for improvement was the die itself. Not problem is that when metal is heated, it expands. The im-
all die casters realize that in recent years, this priority portance of controlling the temperature of both plunger tip
has changed considerably. With the use of 3-D com- and shot sleeve is shown by the fact that if the temperature
puter modeling to predict the ideal flow of metal into of a 6-in. copper tip is allowed to rise by 200°F, the diam-
the die and ultra-accurate multi-axis CNC machining eter will increase by more than 0.011˝.
to produce a die that can consistently make large con- Shot sleeves are getting bigger, but whatever the size of
voluted castings with inordinately close tolerances, the the sleeve, that critical maximum gap of 0.004˝ unfortu-
die caster should now be able to assume that the dies nately remains unchanged.
being used are likely as good as they need to be. The best
opportunity for improvement, therefore, now usually lies
with the delivery of the alloy into the die. Analyzing the Controlling the
various forces that impact on the moment of casting, the
die caster of today will soon realize that to even approach
Plunger Tip Temperature
maximum productivity, the plunger and the shot sleeve Plunger tips were originally made of steel, primarily for
must work closely together, since their functions are its durability and economy. A steel tip, of course, has the
inseparably combined. same coefficient of thermal expansion as the shot sleeve
in which it slides. Since the plunger tip is exposed to
more heat than the sleeve, the expansion of a steel tip
is difficult to control very precisely. The next step in the
A Critical Interaction development of the conventional plunger tip was to make
The danger of exceeding a maximum allowable gap it of beryllium copper, which has a coefficient of thermal
between the plunger tip and the shot sleeve has been expansion more than 50% greater than that of steel. This
understood by die casters for many years. The technol- made the expansion of the tip much easier to control. It
ogy of both plunger tips and shot sleeves has improved was then possible to maintain the thermal, and there-
appreciably in the interim. The parameters of the gap, fore the dimensional, stability of the tip throughout the
however, remain unchanged. The interaction between length of the stroke.
the plunger tip and the shot sleeve is certainly the most Die casters usually reduce the temperature of their plung-
critical in the die casting process. It can only be most er tips with water. Excessive plunger tip expansion and wear
effective, however, if both components are operating at is nearly always simply the result of insufficient coolant.
an equal level of efficiency. Even experienced die casters sometimes neglect this.
Also, an effective vacuum can only be achieved if the Rate of flow is easily measured and should be monitored
seal between plunger and shot sleeve remains intact at all constantly. Maintaining an adequate flow of water is vital to
times. If the seal is broken, an effective vacuum is obvi- controlling plunger tip expansion.
ously impossible. The challenge is to maintain a minimal There are some proprietary cooling-intensive plunger tips
gap without interference, while using the least amount that utilize the cooling water much more effectively than
of lubrication. conventional tips.

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 The Evolution of a Plunger Tip An additional advantage is that the face of the ARP
is considerably cooler than that of other plunger tips.
This cools the biscuit much faster and reduces the cycle
time significantly.
This does not compromise compression, because since the
wear ring remains relatively hot, while the face of the tip is
much cooler, the outside of the biscuit tends to remain liq-
uid slightly longer, allowing better than usual compression.
Die casters commonly attempt to reduce cycle time by
cooling the die end of the shot sleeve. This unfortunately
tends to shrink the sleeve at the point where the plunger tip
is hottest and is likely at its greatest diameter.

A New High-Strength Plunger Tip

Figure 1 – The ARP Plunger Tip
The ARP plunger tip has been successfully and profitably
The plunger tip in Figure 1 was developed a number of used for a number of years, but the market for aluminum
years ago by Allper of Switzerland. It has evolved over castings is changing. Castings are required, especially in
time in response to changing market demands, without the automotive sector, to be larger, more complex and to
compromising its original mandate of performing its func- have closer tolerances than ever before. They also require a
tion most effectively at the least cost to the die caster. faster rate of production than previously thought possible.
The body of the plunger tip is of beryllium copper for its Plunger tips used to seldom be larger than 6˝. Now, 8˝ tips
high coefficient of thermal expansion. A conventional and even larger are common.
plunger tip screws directly onto the hollow plunger rod. The demands on the plunger tip, particularly in strength
With the ARP, a stainless steel tip holder is screwed onto and stability, outgrew the replaceable wear ring plunger.
the shot rod, and the copper tip is securely fastened to it This led to the development of the Allper high-strength
with a quick release bayonet type connector. The front of AMP plunger tip.
the steel holder lies in full contact with the inside face of This high-strength modular plunger tip was designed
the plunger tip and absorbs the total pressure of the shot. specifically for the production of large castings. The beryl-
The face can then be very thin for better heat exchange. lium copper body is longer, and features a replaceable high-
The water flow is from the center of the shot rod, strength steel head.
through the stainless holder, and directly to the inside face
of the plunger tip where a turbulent flow is generated to
maximize the heat transfer. It then goes through four chan-
nels to the circular external coolant return passage.
Beryllium copper is an ideal medium to dissipate heat
from the plunger to the cooling water. It is, of course, not
nearly as wear-resistant as the steel of the shot sleeve. Since
the tip was then dimensionally stable and the gap control-
lable, this problem was resolved with the development of
a steel wear ring. This tempered steel ring rests freely in a
groove machined near the front of the plunger tip. It is split
and expands against the inside wall of the shot sleeve. Only
the ring wears — not the copper body. The wear ring is
easily removed or installed with a special hand tool in about
five minutes.
The die end of the shot sleeve is chamfered to compress Figure 2 – High-Strength AMP Tip
the ring and guide it back into the sleeve. Because the ring
is flexible, it makes continuous contact with the inside of The challenge to the Allper R&D engineers was to
the shot sleeve. Flash, which is a major cause of wear, is develop a plunger tip that would remain relatively stable
essentially eliminated. Shot speeds are consistent. Since so as to consistently maintain the required gap with
the expanding wear ring ensures a secure seal between the the shot sleeve, but also be strong enough to withstand
plunger and the shot sleeve, a better vacuum can be drawn. extreme pressures, as well as the impact of a short shot if
As only the long-lasting steel wear ring is replaced the plunger contacts the die. Their aim was to use as little
instead of an entire copper body, the cost of consumables is copper as possible, primarily for the strength of steel and
considerably reduced. also for economy.
With a conventional tip, failure of the body is from wear. As with the ARP, a steel holder screws onto the plunger
Failure of the ARP body is only from thermal and pressure rod. The beryllium copper body with its steel head is simi-
fatigue. Operating life is therefore many times longer. larly connected with a quick-release bayonet fastener.

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 With the AMP, after a considerable period of incre- As well, the alloy being poured into the sleeve is at about
mental redesign and field testing, the heat transfer to the 1300°F, while the annealing temperature of H13, the usual
coolant has become much more effective. The tip is more shot sleeve material, is only 1085°F. If the shot sleeve is not
dimensionally stable, and thermal control is less dependent adequately cooled, it will likely lose some of its hardness.
on the high coefficient of thermal expansion of copper. Wear will then more quickly result from the abrasive action
Cycle times are reduced, as well as the cost of consum- of any alloy that penetrates the gap.
ables. With experience, minimum operating life of wear
rings and tip bodies can now be fairly accurately estimated,
and downtime for replacement scheduled in advance so that Porosity and Vacuum
production runs are never unexpectedly interrupted.
The AMP high-strength plunger tip responds to the In cold chamber die casting of light metals, because of
demands of an increasing and changing market. It makes the turbulence of the alloy as it is forced at a high pres-
better castings. sure into the die cavity and the complex shape of many
casting molds, air and other gases are often trapped in
the metal. This, of course, results in porosity in some
parts of the casting.
Cooling the Shot Sleeve If the casting is to be chromed, painted or powder-coat-
Typically, a shot sleeve may become 200-300°F hotter ed, or if any part of the casting is very thin, any air or gas
at the bottom under the pour hole than at the top in inclusions usually result in rejection. Porosity also affects
front of the hole. If the temperature of the sleeve is the mechanical properties of the product. In structural
much higher at the bottom than at the top, unequal applications, porosity can act as a stress concentrator and,
expansion will cause it to become oval instead of round therefore, create a site where cracks may occur.
and slightly bowed rather than straight. Either of these An additional problem is the fact that porosity in a cast-
conditions will cause premature wear of both tip and ing may not always be immediately apparent. If discovered
sleeve. The extent of ovality and distortion is directly after subsequent processing, customer dissatisfaction can
related to both the diameter and length of the shot be extreme.
sleeve. To avoid too much variance in thermal expan- Porosity in the casting can be almost completely elimi-
sion, the bottom of the shot sleeve should be cooled so nated by an efficient vacuum system.
that the difference in temperature, bottom to top, does
not exceed 100°F.
Nearly all die casters cool their plunger tips. Effectively
controlling shot sleeve temperatures, however, is a more
Vacuum-Assisted Casting
difficult challenge. Before the injection shot occurs, a vacuum is drawn in
both the shot sleeve and the mold cavity. The vacuum is
maintained until the injection cycle is completed. Almost
all of the air is positively and quickly evacuated.

Figure 3 – Water-Cooled Shot Sleeve

The pour end of the shot sleeve is where the temperature

is highest. This is obviously where cooling is most neces-
sary. Accordingly, another method of temperature control
is the pour-end cooling jacket. This effective and economi-
cal device puts shot sleeve cooling where it is needed most,
directly below the pour spout. The cooling jacket can also be
reused when the sleeve is replaced.
If uncontrolled, the vertical temperature variance in the
shot sleeve at the pour end will result in a distortion which
may allow some of the alloy to enter part of the gap be-
tween the plunger and the sleeve. This will cause premature
wear and inconsistent shot velocity.
Figure 4 – A Contemporary Vacuum System

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 A good vacuum in the mold cavity enables the alloy to For better die casting, the effectiveness of interacting
flow into blind recesses in complex shapes. It also allows components should never be considered individually, but
the fronts of the molten metal to merge freely without always together. Die casting is, in fact, a process that can
forming shuts. only improve when all parts work together as a system.
Whatever vacuum method is employed, if it works well, The most obvious interaction is between the plunger
improved quality and reduced scrap can be guaranteed. and the shot sleeve, but vacuum is becoming increasingly
The principal benefit of vacuum is to eliminate porosity. essential, and it requires an effective plunger-shot sleeve
Product that is rejected is unusually costly to the die caster. function. All three components are therefore connected and
For example, the value of the machine time that is lost while form part of the overall system.
producing the rejected product can never be recovered. Experience has proved that always considering the
Adding a vacuum system to the operating process ben- casting process to be a unified system, rather than
efits a die caster in several ways. First, it reduces his rate of merely a group of disparate components, virtually assures
rejection. Secondly, by lessening the force required on the increased productivity.
plunger, it increases the life of almost all components of
the DCM. But most importantly, by allowing the die caster =
to produce thinner, stronger and more complex castings, it
makes it possible for him to participate in a fast growing About the Author
market sector which would otherwise be denied.
Paul Robbins, general manager of Castool Tooling Systems,
has been in the light metal die casting industry for nearly 30
For Better Die Casting years. After earning a postgraduate degree from the Schulich
School of Business, he joined his father, a Toronto tool maker
The market for light metal die castings continues to who made high quality die casting molds. Robbins is a recog-
grow. Castings are becoming bigger, more complex and nized authority on light metal die casting. He has had many
better in every way. Technology is keeping pace with articles published in industry magazines and has presented
the changing market, but castings are still made by die numerous technical papers at conferences both in the U.S.
casters, not just by machines, and the die caster’s basic and abroad.
approach to the production process is now more impor-
tant than ever.

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