What are die castings advantages over producing a design as a sand casting?
A. Compared with sand castings, die castings require little or no machining to meet specifications, can be made with thinner walls, can have all or nearly all holes cored to size, can be held within much closer dimensional limits, and are produced more rapidly in dies which can make many thousands of castings without replacement, rather than requiring new cores for each casting. Die castings have smoother surfaces and involve much less labor cost per casting. Sand castings, on the other hand, can be made from ferrous metals and from many nonferrous alloys not suitable for die casting which provide higher strength and wear resistance. Certain shapes not producible by die casting are available in sand castings, maximum size can be greater, tool cost is usually less and small quantities can be produced more economically but may require extensive machining.
