Minimizing the casting defects in high-pressure die casting using Taguchi analysis

High-Pressure Die Casting (HPDC) is one of the major production processes of the automotive industry, widely used to manufacture geometrically complex nonferrous castings. The mechanical strength and microstructure of HPDC-manufactured products change with variation in several process parameters such as injection pressure, molten temperature, 1st and 2nd stage plunger velocities, cooling temperature, etc. Since these process parameters directly a ect casting quality, their optimum combination is needed to maximize productivity of the process and minimize casting defects such as porosity, pinholes, blowholes, etc. Hence, to tackle this problem, an approach is presented in this paper that minimizes the major casting defect, i.e., porosity, in the HPDC process by optimizing parameters through Design Of Experiments (DOE) in combination with Taguchi Analysis. The obtained results showed that cooling time, injection pressure, and 2nd stage plunger velocity had a major in uence on the response factor (density of the cast part). It was further concluded that by using a 178-bar injection pressure, 665C molten temperature, 5 seconds of cooling time, 210C mold temperature, 0.20 m.s