HotFlo! Booth at SAE and NADCA Exhibitions

In April 2006, HotFlo! participated in these two exhibitions in North America where the latest technology, products and services were on display. This was an opportunity for engineers and management to understand more about the benefits of new Die Casting techniques and how they can be applied to production castings, now including magnesium alloys.

We would like to thank everyone who came to see us, and also to the team members who did all the hard work.

Special thanks to Eric Buckley for his great effort in organising the booth.

Die Set Components from HotFlo!

To assist in the manufacturing of high performance dies, we now have available a range of standard components which enable close control of die temperature and accuracy. Although designed primarily for dies with hot sprue systems, they are also being used with cold sprue dies and in dies for cold chamber aluminium Die Casting. The range includes, heated die plates, runner plates, thermocouples and special heater elements. The range is being continually increased. Contact us for more information.

More.....

Version 3.0 of DC-CALC Software for Die Casting has now been released.

The Thermal Analysis module now supports both oil and air as coolants as well as water. This is useful for companies who use hot oil systems to both heat and cool die cavity inserts, and companies who use multiple coolants in the same die. Air cooling, using compressed air flow, is finding increasing use in high temperature dies and in small moving slides where it is difficult to get water lines.

The database now contains the data on over 230 standard Die Casting machines from 18 manufacturers, including Frech, Italpresse, Hishinuma, UBE, Buhler, LK, Urpe, Jeng Fonf, Chen Fong, Shinosuka, Kawaguchi, Producer, National, Vihorlat Polak, Agrati, Oleopresse, Colosiopresse and IDRA. See: About Version 3.0

Version 2.9 Features: The Thermal Analysis module now includes a whole new section for measuring the performance of the Thermal System. The actual Cooling Power can be easily measured, verified, and compared to the design intent. Any shortcomings can then be identified and rectified using actual data rather than guesswork.

The method used to calculate the Dynamic Metal Pressure Peak has been improved. This effects the pressure on the dies at the end of cavity fill, and the tendency to "flash" the die.

About DC-CALC...

Series 20 Hot Sprue Kits Available

To meet the demand for a hot sprue kit with a capacity midway between the Series 16 and the Series 24, HotFlo! have released the Series 20 hot sprue kits and accessories.

With a 20mm bore at the machine nozzle, these kits are most suited to Die casting machines in the range from 160 to 400 tonnes clamp.

They are available in both Mono and Duo tip styles and in two standard lengths, 161mm and 191mm.

Small Hot Sprue Kit Now Available

Now available from HotFlo! is the Series 8 hot sprue kits, the smallest in the current range. A die producing a single cavity Circular Cap was trialled recently and the runner and sprue came out at a measly 12 grams total weight. (1/3 ounce). The diameter at the machine nozzle is 8.0 mm, which enables a good sized casting to be made, but without the waste of a traditional cold sprue system. This enables the sort of efficiencies achieved on a multi-slide machine to be reproduced on a standard horizontal hot chamber machine. More...

NADCA Exposition, Indianapolis, 2003

The latest products and technology from HotFlo! were on display at our booth at the Exposition of the North American Die Casting Association in Idianapolis, USA.

Eric Buckley and Graham Wilson on the booth.

A new pressure die casting using a lead alloy has been successfully cast using hot sprue technology from HotFlo!

Because of its naturally soft nature, casting of lead items with thick sections can present challenges. This casting with six separate cavities was successfully cast using a Series 12 hot sprue kit with a mono tip.

A gate cutter was designed into the die so no trimming is required.

HotFlo! announce the release of the new TC101 Temperature Controller specifically to meet the demanding needs of the Die Casting industry.

It is packed with features which make it ideal for use on hot sprue systems, heated nozzles, gooseneck heating and die temperatue indication.

More...

Precision and Complexity

This Die Cast component is made in a family die to exacting specifications. Multiple complex surfaces and close tolerances must be maintained so that the two parts fit together accurately and reliably.

A Series 12 HotFlo! kit was chosen with a mono tip style.

The runners were accurately calculated, with a circular cross section blending into two tapered tangential runner gates which follow the steeply curved die line.

The castings are of exceptional quality, with minimum of flash. The runner is only 13% of the total shot weight.

Strange Invader ?

It looks like a metal leech.

It could be an armour plated worm.

Maybe a legless centipede.