Over the past several years, NADCA has been involved in many different research efforts that have resulted in significant improvements in the die casting industry. The Metalcasting Congress has always been the showcase to provide the latest technical information on the industry’s advancements. This year we will be hosting a Congress in Columbus, Ohio and we expect to have the same great level of quality papers from around the world.

Much of our research has focused on improving die materials, die coatings, die design and cooling. In fact one of major technical goals for research in the coming years is lubeless/sprayless die castings. It seems difficult to comprehend, but nonetheless it is a goal. Even if we achieve fifty percent of our goal, we would succeed in saving the industry time and money.  Imagine the change in air quality in a die casting operation. Imagine the improved floor traction and reduction in cleaning supplies to remove the oily and slick coating currently found on many die casting floors. Even more importantly, think about the reduction of defects because one of the largest process variables (Die spraying) has been more consistently controlled and reduced.

When I was in Spain late last year and Germany the year before, almost all of the die casting facilities visited had some type of emission collection system. This kept the air clear, but there was no real noticeable reduction in emissions coming from the die and shot areas. These expensive collection systems were only there to collect emissions and did nothing to address the root of the problem.  With EPA scrutinizing every manufacturing process, we may need to someday follow suit with collection systems over every die casting machine. However, it may be a wiser investment now to spend money on research that would lead to reduced emissions through minimizing the use of die spray and shot lube material.

Putting die spray only on the die where it needs to go, controlling the die cooling line temperatures, placing cooling lines closer to the surface and conformal cooling lines are all steps that could be taken to control the temperature of the die in a more consistent manner with a minimal of die spray. NADCA has recently found tremendous die casting quality improvements from the work it is doing to control the die cooling channel temperatures. Certainly a closed loop internal cooling system is more effective and controllable than dumping gallons of die spray and water on the external surface of a die. It is time we approach this issue scientifically.

It may be troublesome to the fine die spray and shot lube suppliers to suggest that we should research to use less of their material. However, I liken this to our work on reducing die casting scrap which is fully supported by the alloy suppliers. While the goal is to be completely spray and lube free, any significant reduction from current levels of use is a large win for the die casting industry. This is attainable. I was in a Nissan die casting operation in Australia several years ago. They had six or eight die casting machines that were at least 1200 tons each. The plant air was clear and clean. Even though all the machines had collection hoods, the amount of emissions coming from the machines was minimal. I asked what was different and the engineer told me that they spent six months refining their spray system, patterns, and timing. They achieved a 90% reduction in spray use, an increase in productivity, and a reduction in scrap. Instead of simply buying collection hoods, perhaps we should invest in the research and technology to reduce die spray and shot lube.