Should Your Company Switch to Die Casting for Your Parts Production?

If you have used other methods of part production in the past, you may be wondering if die casting is right for your company. In fact, die casting is a very popular choice among many companies as a cost-effective and efficient solution to your part production needs. Here are a few questions to ask yourself to help decide whether or not your company should switch to die casting.

1. Does Your Company Currently Use Stamping for Parts Production?

You can save a lot of money with die casting over stamping because die casting can replace several parts in the process. In addition, die casting usually needs fewer assembly operations than stamping, allows a wider range for section thickness, can be held within closer dimensional limits and produces less scrap waste.

2. Does Your Company Require Complex Shapes?

If your parts are standard, cookie cutter parts, you have a lot of options for part production, although you still may opt for die casting. However, if you are making complex parts, you need die casting, as the nature of die casting allows for tighter tolerances and more complicated patterns than stamping or other methods. You can form a die for your exact part almost instantly and get a nearly perfect copy of your atypically shaped part every time.

3. Does Your Company Require High Volume Part Production?

With die casting, you can make parts fast. You can make batches of multiple parts at once and can churn out thousands of parts before you need to do any additional tooling. If you only need to produce a few parts a day, die casting may not be for your company, but if your output is closer to 100 parts a day or more, die casting can really ramp up the efficiency of your organization.

4. Do Your Parts Require Easy Customization?

Once you've made the casting, it’s easy to individualize pieces by adding textures, finishes, fastening elements or other distinctive additions after each part is cast. For a smooth-running assembly process for a variety of complex, customized parts in high volume, you’ll almost certainly want to opt for die casting.

5. Is Manufacturing Stability an Issue for Your Company?

One issue many businesses that require part production may struggle with is stability. If managing heat tolerance has been an issue for your company, you should strongly consider switching to die casting, which promotes dimensional stability and makes it easier to keep your assembly process within required heat tolerances.

6. Is Part Strength a Concern for Your Company?

If your company has had issues with parts not holding together under stress, it may be due to your part manufacturing process. Parts that are put together in multiple steps or that are made with plastic injection molding simply do not have the integrity of die cast parts. Die cast parts are one solid piece, which means greater internal strength and a tougher part.

Overall Advantages of Die Casting for Your Company

For smaller companies with simple part production needs, other methods of part production may be sufficient. In addition, parts that need to be made of certain alloys may not be suitable for die casting. If you only make parts when ordered and are not regularly in production, again, die casting may not be for your business.

On the other hand, if your business involves the regular production of parts, especially complex ones, and you need those parts made fast, it's hard to argue against using die casting. The amount of money you can save, the strength and accuracy of the parts you produce and the speed and efficiency with which you can produce them all point to die casting as the way to produce parts for your business.

When it comes to die casting, we at Premier Engineered Products are the established experts. We’ve been die casting parts for 72 years, and we understand the best methods for creating quality parts. Premier Engineered Products offers all the metal fabrication services you need, from CNC machining to metal finishing and assembly. To learn more about how Premier Engineered Products can help you produce high-quality parts for your business, contact us today.