Aluminum for Die Casting: Alloy Selection Guide

A380 is the default aluminum for die casting - it offers the best balance of castability, strength, machinability, and cost, and it accounts for the majority of aluminum die castings produced worldwide. When a program has specific requirements, other alloys take over: ADC12 for Asian OEM supply chains, A360 for corrosion resistance and pressure tightness, A413 for hydraulic components, and A390 for wear resistance.

The die casting of aluminium is done almost exclusively in cold chamber machines, because molten aluminum attacks the submerged components of hot chamber systems. If you are still comparing metals rather than alloys, see aluminum vs zinc die casting.

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Aluminum Die Casting Alloy Comparison

Alloy	Standard	Tensile Strength	Key Strength	Best Fit
A380	ASTM B85	317 MPa	Best overall balance	General engineering, housings, brackets
ADC12	JIS H5302	310 MPa	Castability, dimensional precision	Japanese/Asian OEM programs
A360	ASTM B85	317 MPa	Corrosion resistance, pressure tightness	Outdoor, marine, thermal management
A413	ASTM B85	290 MPa	Lowest porosity, pressure tightness	Hydraulic manifolds, pneumatic valves
A390	ASTM B85	283 MPa	Wear resistance, low thermal expansion	Pistons, cylinder blocks, wear surfaces

For a side-by-side of the two most common grades, see ADC12 vs A380.

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How to Select the Right Alloy

Default to A380 when the drawing has no special requirements. It is the most available, most economical, and easiest to cast and machine.

Specify ADC12 when the program sits in a Japanese, Korean, or Asian OEM supply chain that certifies to JIS H5302, or when slightly better fluidity helps fill complex thin-wall geometry.

Specify A360 when the part faces outdoor exposure, salt spray, cleaning chemicals, or requires better pressure tightness than A380 can reliably deliver.

Specify A413 when leak-tightness is the primary requirement - its near-eutectic silicon content produces the lowest porosity of the common die casting alloys.

Specify A390 for wear surfaces and thermally stable components. Note the tradeoffs: reduced castability, faster die wear, and more difficult machining.

Not sure which fits your part? The die casting materials overview compares aluminum against zinc and magnesium families, or send your drawing for a free recommendation via RFQ.

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What Aluminum Delivers in Die Casting

• Light weight - density around 2.7 g/cm3, roughly one third of steel and less than half of zinc
• Thin walls - 1.2 mm achievable in production HPDC
• Thermal conductivity - the reason aluminum dominates heat sink housings and LED lighting parts
• Corrosion resistance - natural oxide layer; further improved by anodizing or powder coating
• High volume economics - typical die life of 80,000-150,000 shots in H13 tooling

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Process and Temperature Notes

Aluminum die casting alloys melt between roughly 570-650 deg C and are cast at 650-710 deg C in cold chamber machines. Because of the high casting temperature, die life is shorter than for zinc, and die casting tooling is almost always H13 hot work steel. Standard HPDC aluminum cannot be T6 heat treated without blistering risk; programs needing heat-treated properties should look at low pressure die casting, vacuum die casting, or squeeze casting.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best aluminum alloy for die casting?

A380 is the best general-purpose aluminum die casting alloy and the global default. For corrosion resistance choose A360, for pressure tightness choose A413, and for Japanese supply chains choose ADC12.

Is the die casting of aluminium done in hot or cold chamber machines?

Cold chamber, almost exclusively. Molten aluminum would attack the submerged gooseneck of a hot chamber machine, so aluminum is ladled into an external shot sleeve for each cycle.

Can aluminum die castings be heat treated?

Standard HPDC castings blister under solution heat treatment because of internal gas porosity. Vacuum-assisted HPDC, LPDC, gravity, and squeeze casting produce low-porosity castings that can be T6 treated - see heat treatment services.

Related

• aluminum die casting

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