2. Die-casting and related processes

Conventional die casting involves filling a metal mold at high speed and then applying very high pressure, generally in the range of 50 to 100 MPa, during solidification. Die-casting is the most widely used process in terms of tonnage. It lends itself primarily to very large production runs, offering the lowest part cost but requiring much higher investments (machines and molds) than die-casting. Conventional die-casting can be used to produce thin, highly-worked parts with excellent dimensional tolerances and surface finishes, across a wide range of part sizes and weights. However, it has two major limitations: the practical impossibility of using cores (except in the case of processes that are still not widely used today), and the fairly high core porosity of the parts, which severely limits ductility and precludes conventional T6 and T7 heat treatments (it should be noted that innovative...