Die Casting Molds: The Basics

Die Casting Molds: The Basics. Die casting molds, also known as die casting tooling or simply dies are usually made of a pair of alloy tool steels: the cover half and the ejector half. The cover half is also called as the fixed half of the die because this is the one that remains immovable all throughout the die casting process. The other part of the pair is the ejector half or the removable half of the die. As the name implies, this is the one that can be detached (either automatically or manually) in order to release the pieces from the dies. Modern day technology has also introduced tool inserts called cores and movable slides to produce holes within the pieces. This gives it the allowance to make more sophisticated designs in die casting. Additionally, these said designs are thereby easier and cheaper to produce on a mass production level.

In the earliest days of die casting, die casting molds were almost always solid in construction. This is due to the fact that most productions were limited only to the use of single cavity designs. In order for the necessary openings or holes to emerge from the cooled pieces, these must be cut or drilled either manually or by another machine. Needless to say, this was not only time consuming, but subject to a lot of human and mechanical error. Also, creating, buying and utilizing another machine just to create the necessary holes in die cast pieces was an expensive venture as well. By overhauling the entire die casting mold design and introducing various movable sections within the machines themselves, production has more than tripled.