Manufacturing – Casting methods - European Aluminium Association

1.6 Low pressure die casting
1.6.1 LPDC description and product examples
Cylinder head, Low pressure die casting
Low pressure die casting is a well-known casting process, especially for aluminium wheels
in passenger cars. The process is also used in the production of big V-engine blocks in
hypereutectic aluminium alloys and in the casting of air-cooled cylinder heads for motor
cycles. Mould filling is controlled by regulating the pressure in the casting furnace. The melt
flows through the riser tube which is positioned under the melt surface of the furnace and fills
the mould very smoothly with clean melt from the bottom up. After mould filling, solidification
starts from the opposite end of the mould in the direction of the tube. By increasing the
pressure in the casting furnace, good feeding is guaranteed. Cycle times are long due to the
fact that the casting is connected to the big melt volume by the riser tube during solidification.
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