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This is a study on the process and system to extend aluminum die casting die’s tool life. Conventionally, die casting die’s temperature control and gating plan are designed based on experience. However, in order to ensure the quality of die casting, experience alone may not be sufficient. The need for die temperature controller and mold flow analysis to assist die cast production is indeed necessary.
Experiment includes both software and hardware experiment. Hardware experiment includes controlling the die temperature using die temperature controller. By pre-heating the die and dissipating heat on certain areas of the die, we are able to reduce thermal fatigue on the tool steel as temperatures fluctuates and heat cycles through the die. Software experiment includes mold flow analysis to detect different types of defect and the respective area that may occur in the casting. Based on the result from the analysis, improvements are made in order to better control the process.
With the use of die temperature controller we are able to maintain the stability of the temperature during production in order to reduce thermal fatigue. And using “Flow 3D” mold flow simulation software, we can predict the possible defect that may occur during die cast production. These are taken into consideration before the tool is build. Combining the two, we are able to obtain better control of the process in order to extend tool life and reduce scrap rate.
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