Zinc and Zinc Alloys

Zinc and zinc alloys are non-ferrous alloys that are used widely in the production of die cast components. Products differ in terms of composition, grade, shape, dimensions, and features. Commercially pure, unalloyed or very low alloy zinc does not contain or contains only very small amounts of alloying elements. Pure or unalloyed zinc is used in r non-structural applications and to galvanize metals such as iron in order to prevent corrosion. Zinc alloys contain significant amounts of added elements or constituents. Common types include zinc oxide and zinc sulfide. Zinc oxide is used in the manufacture of paints, rubber products, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, floor coverings, plastics, printing ink, soap, textiles, and electrical equipment. Zinc sulfide is used in luminous dials, X-ray and television screens, fluorescent lights and non-toxic paints. 

Many zinc and zinc alloys meet the compositional standards of the Unified Numbering System (UNS), a specification established by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), and metal trade associations such as the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). The UNS assigns metals and alloys a lettered prefix and a five-digit number. Zinc and zinc alloys belong to the UNS Z category and have designations such as UNS Z45330. Other standards for zinc and zinc alloys include casting grades, European Norm (EN), American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) standards, and U.S. military specifications (MIL-SPEC). QQ and QQS prefixes are used to designate specific MIL-SPEC metals. 

Suppliers provide zinc and zinc alloys in many stock shapes and forms. Semi-finished stock shapes are suitable for part fabrication by machining, assembly, or other processes. They are also used as feedstock for casting, forging, and spinning. Common stock shapes and forms for zinc and zinc alloys include bars, rods, tubes, plates, profiles, sheets, strips, shims, spheres, foil, wire, billets, slabs, and blooms. Materials are also supplied as billets, ingots, powders, fillers, and reinforcements. Round, hexagonal, coil, and hollow stock are commonly available. There are two basic types of anodes. Plating anodes are in used in plating or electroplating processes. Sacrificial anodes are used to protect stainless steel or other metal structures from corrosion.    

Selecting zinc and zinc alloys requires an analysis of dimensions and production processes. Outer diameter (OD), inner diameter (ID), overall length, and overall thickness are important dimensions. Most materials are cast, wrought, extruded, cold-finished, rolled or drawn. Continuous casting is a successive series of operations that eliminates the need for primary and intermediate mills as well as the use and storage of large numbers of molds. Centrifugal casting attaches molds to the outside edge of a hollow tube. Metal is poured into the tube and as the tube is spun at high speeds, centrifugal force pulls the molten metal into the molds.

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Part Numbers for Zinc and Zinc Alloys