Gas content in high pressure die castings

This paper presents the results of a quantitative study of the gas level in various types of castings from the high pressure die casting (HPDC) process using a vacuum fusion method. It was found that the major part of the gas was from the air entrapment during cavity filling. Other sources such as air entrapment during ladling, residual die lubricant and quenching water were also noticeable. Measurements of a large casting and castings from a multi-cavity die showed that the gas content was unevenly distributed. The modified vacuum fusion method has been proved to be a valuable tool for evaluating and quantifying the level of gas in castings as well as for an assessment of the influence of different process parameters on gas evolution in castings.