Tooling Costs

  • Tooling costs for high-precision die casting are among the highest of any high-volume production process.
  • Die casting dies are subjected to very severe operating conditions in normal service.
  • Injection of molten metal and the subsequent rapid cooling cause deterioration and ultimately failure of die steel.
  • Die steel erosion is called die wash.
  • Loss of sharp definition of the more intricate details, deterioration of surface quality, and thickening of some sections.
  • Tooling costs can be minimized to some extent in the design.

Die Casting Process Costs

  • Die casting process costs consists of labor and equipment.
  • Machine cycle time controlled to lesser extent by factors that can be addressed in the design of the product.
  • Massive features take longer to solidify.
  • Die casting machine opening/closing events require additional time with more complex moving parts.