ZamakFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to:navigation,searchZamak ingot Zamak(formerlytrademarkedas ZAMAK[1] and also known as Zamac) is a family ofalloyswith a base metal ofzincand alloying elements ofaluminium,magnesium, andcopper. Zamakalloys are part of thezinc aluminium alloy family ; they are distinguished from the other ZA alloys because of their constant 4% aluminium composition. [2] The namezamakis anacronymoftheGermannames for themetalsof which the alloys are composed:Zink(zinc), Aluminium, Magnesium and Kupfer(copper). [2] TheNew Jersey Zinc Company developed zamak alloys in 1929. While zinc alloys are popularly referred to as pot metal orwhite metal, zamak is held to higher industrial standards. The most common zamak alloy is zamak 3, but zamak 2, zamak 5 and zamak 7 are still commercially used. [2] These alloys are most commonlydie cast. [2] Zamak alloys (particularly #3 and #5) are frequently used in the spin castingindustry. A large problem with early zinc die casting materials was zinc pest, owing to impurities in the alloys. [3] Zamak avoided this by the use of 99.99% pure zinc metal, produced by New Jersey Zinc'suse of arefluxeras part of thesmeltingprocess. Zamak can be electroplated, wet painted, and chromate conversion coated well. [4] Contents 1 Mazak2 Standards 3 Zamak 2o 3.1 KS4 Zamak 35 Zamak 46 Zamak 5
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In the early 1930s Morris Ashby in Britain had licensed the New Jersey zamak alloy. The high-
purity refluxer zinc was not available in Britain and so they acquired the right to manufacture the
alloy using a locally available electrolytically refined zinc of 99.95% purity. This was given thename Mazak , partly to distinguish it from zamak and partly from the initials of Morris Ashby. In
1933, National Smelting licensed the refluxer patent with the intent of using it to produce
99.99% zinc in their plant at Avonmouth.[5]
Standards
Zinc alloy chemical composition standards are defined per country by the standard listed below:
Zinc alloy standards per country
Country Zinc ingot Zinc casting
Europe EN1774 EN12844
USA ASTM B240 ASTM B86
Japan JIS H2201 JIS H5301
Australia AS 1881 - SAA H63 AS 1881 - SAA H64
China GB 8738-88 -
Canada CSA HZ3 CSA HZ11
International ISO 301 -
Zamak goes by many different names based on standard and/or country:
The Short European Designation code breaks down as follows (using ZL0430 as the
example):[11]
Z is the material (Z=Zinc)
P is the use (P=Pressure die casting (casting), L=Ingot)
04 is the percent aluminium (04= 4% aluminium)
3 is the percent copper (3= 3% copper)
Zamak 2
Zamak 2 has the same composition as zamak 3 with the addition of 3% copper in order to
increase strength by 20%, which also increases the price. Zamak 2 has the greatest strength out
of all the zamak alloys. Over time it retains its strength and hardness better than the other alloys;however, it becomes more brittle, shrinks, and less elastic.
[17]
Zamak 2 is also known as Kirksite when gravity cast for use as a die.[2][18]
It was originally
designed for low volume sheet metal dies.[19] It later gained popularity for making short runinjection molding dies.
[19] It is also less commonly used for non-sparking tools and mandrels for
Specific heat capacity 419 J/kg-°C 0.100 BTU/lb-°F
Coefficient of friction 0.08
Zamak 3
Zamak 3 is the de facto standard for the zamak series of zinc alloys; all other zinc alloys arecompared to this. Zamak 3 has the base composition for the zamak alloys (96% zinc, 4%
aluminium). It has excellent castability and long term dimensional stability. More than 70% of
all North American zinc die castings are made from zamak 3.[2]
Electrical resistivity 6.37 μΩ-cm at 20 °C 2.51 μΩ-in at 68 °F
Latent heat (heat of fusion) 110 J/g 4.7x10−
BTU/lb
Specific heat capacity 419 J/kg-°C 0.100 BTU/lb-°F
Coefficient of friction 0.07
Zamak 4
Zamak 4 was developed for the Asian markets to reduce the effects of die soldering whilemaintaining the ductility of zamak 3. This was achieved by using half the amount of copper from
Electrical resistivity 6.54 μΩ-cm at 20 °C 2.57 μΩ-in at 68 °F
Latent heat (heat of fusion) 110 J/g 4.7x10−
BTU/lb
Specific heat capacity 419 J/kg-°C 0.100 BTU/lb-°F
Coefficient of friction 0.08
Zamak 7
Zamak 7 has less magnesium than zamak 3 to increase fluidity and ductility, which is especiallyuseful when casting thin wall components. In order to reduce inter-granular corrosion a small
amount of nickel is added and impurities are more strictly controlled.[2]