Project Overview
A customer was experiencing continuous quality issues with their existing aluminum high pressure die casting inserts, including internal shrinkage, porosity, and surface gas defects. These issues affected production stability, increased scrap costs, and created challenges during mass production.
After the original tooling supplier was unable to provide effective technical support and long-term improvement solutions, the customer searched for a more capable aluminum high pressure die casting mold manufacturer with strong engineering expertise and problem-solving capabilities.
Raidy Mold was invited to analyze the existing die casting inserts, identify the root causes, and implement optimization solutions.
Through comprehensive die casting tooling improvement, including insert structure optimization, feeding system redesign, and defect prevention control, Raidy Mold successfully reduced the production scrap rate from 2.49% to 0.45%, exceeding the customer’s target of 1.80%.
Based on the successful improvement results and professional technical support, the customer selected Raidy Mold for subsequent die casting tooling projects.
1. Customer Background
The customer was using an existing set of aluminum high pressure die casting tooling for mass production. During production, the customer encountered several casting quality problems, including:
- Internal shrinkage and porosity defects;
- Surface gas pores;
- Defects appearing after machining;
- Unstable production yield;
- Increased scrap rate.
Although the customer had attempted to solve these issues with the original tooling supplier, the problems were not effectively resolved due to insufficient engineering analysis and limited follow-up support.
The customer required a tooling partner who could not only manufacture die casting inserts, but also provide professional analysis, optimization, and production improvement solutions.
Raidy Mold accepted the challenge and conducted a complete evaluation of the existing tooling.
2. Challenge Analysis
After receiving the existing die casting inserts, Raidy Mold’s engineering team performed a detailed investigation, including:
- Die casting insert structure review;
- Mold design evaluation;
- Feeding and runner system analysis;
- Molten aluminum flow assessment;
- Solidification condition analysis;
- Machining impact evaluation.
The investigation identified two major defect sources:
- Internal shrinkage and porosity caused by insufficient feeding conditions;
- Surface gas porosity caused by insufficient molten aluminum supply and poor solidification control.
3. Root Cause Analysis and Improvement Solutions
3.1 Internal Shrinkage and Porosity Improvement
Problem
Internal shrinkage and porosity defects were found inside the castings, affecting product quality and machining performance.
Root Cause
During the analysis of the original die casting inserts, Raidy Mold found that the mold structure contained four anti-damage protection pillars.
Although these pillars were designed to protect the tooling structure, they occupied part of the molten aluminum filling space during the casting process.
This caused:
- Reduced molten metal feeding volume;
- Insufficient local compensation during solidification;
- Poor feeding conditions in critical areas;
- Increased risk of internal shrinkage and porosity.
Improvement Solution
Raidy Mold optimized the insert design by:
- Removing the four unnecessary anti-damage protection pillars;
- Increasing available molten aluminum space;
- Improving feeding efficiency;
- Enhancing solidification conditions.
The optimized die casting inserts provided improved internal quality and reduced shrinkage-related defects.
3.2 Surface Gas Porosity Improvement
Problem
Surface gas pores appeared on the casting surface. Some defects became more visible after machining, affecting the final product appearance and acceptance.
Root Cause
The original feeding system design had insufficient capacity.
The analysis showed:
- The riser size was too small;
- Molten aluminum feeding volume was insufficient;
- Sequential solidification could not be effectively achieved;
- Local shrinkage compensation was inadequate.
As a result, surface porosity defects occurred during casting.
Improvement Solution
Raidy Mold redesigned the feeding system of the die casting inserts.
Riser Design Optimization
The original riser design was modified:
- Changed from a single feeding structure to a dual-riser feeding design;
- Improved molten aluminum supply capability;
- Enhanced feeding during solidification.
Gate System Optimization
The gate position was adjusted:
- Raised the gate height by 1.5mm;
- Improved molten aluminum flow conditions;
- Increased filling stability.
Feeding Volume Improvement
| Condition | Feeding Volume |
|---|---|
| Before improvement | 128.4 mm |
| After improvement | 164.8 mm |
The optimized feeding system improved casting quality and reduced surface defect occurrence.
4. Defect Escape Prevention After Machining
Root Cause
During the previous quality control process, the internal inspection standard was tightened based on the requirement provided by the previous tooling supplier:
- Customer acceptance requirement: Surface porosity ≤ Φ1mm
- Internal inspection standard: Surface porosity ≤ Φ0.5mm
However, the inspection criteria did not fully consider the customer’s subsequent machining process.
During machining:
- Material removal may expose hidden internal pores;
- The exposed pore area may become larger;
- Final machined surfaces may show defects beyond the acceptance limit.
Therefore, controlling only the pre-machining surface condition was not sufficient to guarantee final product quality.
Corrective Action
Raidy Mold implemented additional quality control measures:
- All inserts with visible porosity marks were isolated;
- Machined surface conditions were included in defect evaluation;
- Potential defect expansion after machining was considered during inspection;
- Additional prevention methods were established to avoid defect escape.
5. Production Improvement Results
After Raidy Mold optimized the die casting inserts and implemented process improvements, the production performance improved significantly.
Scrap Rate Reduction
| Item | Scrap Rate |
|---|---|
| Before improvement | 2.49% |
| Customer target | 1.80% |
| Actual result after improvement | 0.45% |
The final scrap rate was reduced from 2.49% to 0.45%, achieving a significant improvement and exceeding the customer’s original target.
This result demonstrated the effectiveness of Raidy Mold’s engineering capability in optimizing aluminum high pressure die casting tooling for stable mass production.
6. Customer Benefits
Through Raidy Mold’s engineering support and tooling optimization, the customer achieved:
✓ Improved die casting insert performance;
✓ Reduced internal shrinkage and porosity defects;
✓ Reduced surface gas pore issues;
✓ Improved production stability;
✓ Reduced scrap rate and manufacturing costs;
✓ Lower risk during mass production.
Raidy Mold provided not only tooling manufacturing capability but also complete technical support from defect analysis to production improvement.
7. Long-Term Partnership with Raidy Mold
This project demonstrated Raidy Mold’s ability to solve complex challenges related to die casting inserts and HPDC tooling.
The customer recognized Raidy Mold’s:
- Professional die casting tooling knowledge;
- Strong engineering analysis capability;
- Fast problem-solving response;
- Reliable after-sales technical support.
Following the successful improvement project, the customer awarded Raidy Mold additional die casting insert manufacturing and tooling projects for future production programs.
About Raidy Mold
Raidy Mold is a professional aluminum high pressure die casting mold manufacturer specializing in:
- Die casting inserts;
- HPDC molds;
- Die casting tooling design;
- Mold manufacturing;
- Tooling optimization and repair;
- Production defect improvement.
With extensive experience in aluminum high pressure die casting applications, Raidy Mold helps customers achieve higher product quality, lower scrap rates, and more stable mass production performance.
From initial tooling development to production optimization, Raidy Mold provides complete solutions for global die casting manufacturers.
