An "i" for the right aluminum alloy

June 7, 2007
The North American Die Casting Association (NADCA) developed i-Select Al software to help designers, product specifiers, and die casters identify aluminum alloys that have specific casting properties.

Developed in conjunction with Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the software lets users select an alloy from a comprehensive database of aluminum die-casting alloys and properties covered by over 300 worldwide standards.

"Custom aluminum alloys can deliver a variety of benefits, including increased strength and wear resistance, better corrosion resistance, and improved thermal conductivity," says Daniel L. Twarog, NADCA's president. "A major benefit of i-Select Al software is the prediction module that lets die casters create alloys based on desired properties, or predicts properties based on alloy."

Changing the percentages of 10 alloying elements can modify aluminum-alloy properties such as density, thermal conductivity, ultimate tensile strength, tensile yield strength, ductility, and elasticity. In addition to the software's extensive property database, it also includes casting characteristics, photomicrographs of representative microstructures, stress-strain curves, and fatigue and cooling curves for select aluminum die casting alloys.

For more information about the i-Select Al software, visit diecasting.org/oem/iselect/

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