In the aviation industry’s pursuit of extreme lightweight and high reliability, aluminum alloy die castings have become the core carrier for aircraft structural components and critical parts due to their superior specific strength, high-temperature resistance, and precision forming capabilities. As a leading enterprise in the high-end die casting field for 26 years, XIAMEN GOLDCATTLE Die Casting creates customized solutions with aviation-grade standards, providing global aviation manufacturers with full-process support from material research and development to delivery. With an annual delivery of over 500,000 aviation-grade die castings and a 100% compliance rate for key performance indicators, we help the aviation industry achieve core goals of “weight reduction, efficiency improvement, and safety.”
Table of Contents
- Aviation Aluminum Alloy Die Castings: The Core Lightweight Material for Aviation Industry
- Custom Material Selection: Decoding the Performance Code of Aviation-Grade Aluminum Alloys
- Precision Manufacturing Process: The Transformation from Liquid Metal to Aviation-Grade Parts
- Core Technological Breakthroughs: Overcoming Aviation-Grade Performance and Precision Challenges
- Aviation-Grade Quality Control: The Pursuit of Zero Defects under Stringent Standards
- Full-Cycle Custom Service: Matching the Extreme Needs of Aviation Industry
- Aviation Die Casting FAQs: Professional Answers to Key Customization Questions
1. Aviation Aluminum Alloy Die Castings: The Core Lightweight Material for Aviation Industry
Aviation aluminum alloy die castings undertake key functions such as aircraft structure support, load transmission, and environmental tolerance, with their performance directly influencing flight safety and efficiency:
- Core Lightweight Carrier: Achieve 40%-60% weight reduction compared to steel components. For example, 7075-T6 aluminum alloy die castings have a density of only 2.8g/cm³ and a tensile strength of up to 572MPa, reducing aircraft structural weight by 15%-20% and improving fuel efficiency by 8%-12%.
- Complex Structure Forming: Realize complex curved surface forming (curvature radius ≤5mm) for wing ribs, fuselage frames, etc., through integrated die casting, reducing part count by 30%-50% and assembly error (matching accuracy ±0.02mm).
- Harsh Environment Adaptation: Maintain stable performance in the temperature range of -55℃~150℃, with corrosion depth ≤5μm after 1,000 hours of salt spray testing, meeting extreme environment requirements such as high-altitude low temperature and humid marine conditions.
2. Custom Material Selection: Decoding the Performance Code of Aviation-Grade Aluminum Alloys
1. Main Alloy Grades and Performance Advantages
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Alloy Type
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Typical Grade
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Core Performance Indicators
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Typical Applications
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2xxx Series
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2024-T351
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Tensile strength ≥470MPa, fatigue strength ≥140MPa, fracture toughness ≥24MPa·m¹/², suitable for high-stress structures
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Wing ribs, fuselage frames
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6xxx Series
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6061-T6
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Thermal conductivity ≥167W/(m·K), excellent stress corrosion resistance, good weldability, suitable for thermal management components
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Engine heat dissipation housings, electronic equipment brackets
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7xxx Series
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7075-T651
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Tensile strength ≥572MPa, hardness ≥150HB, outstanding fatigue resistance, meeting ultra-high load requirements for landing gear components
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Landing gear brackets, engine mounting frames
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2. Custom Material Design
- Composition Optimization: For high-temperature components of aero-engines, adding 0.15%-0.3% Zr refines the grain size to below 50μm, increasing high-temperature strength by 15% (tensile strength ≥300MPa at 300℃).
- Metallurgical Control: Using semi-continuous casting + homogenization annealing, the alloy composition segregation is <5%, ensuring batch fluctuation of mechanical properties ≤3%.
3. Precision Manufacturing Process: The Transformation from Liquid Metal to Aviation-Grade Parts
1. Mold Design: 0.005mm-Level Precision Attack
- Vacuum Mold Flow Analysis: Simulate molten metal flow under vacuum (≤30mbar) via Moldflow, optimizing gate position (≥10mm from stress-concentrated areas), reducing shrinkage porosity from 2% in conventional processes to below 0.3%.
- Mold Material and Machining:
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- Cavity made of German imported 2344 tool steel, quenched at 1050℃ + three-time tempering at 560℃, hardness reaching 52HRC. Combined with laser texturing (surface roughness Ra≤0.2μm), achieving a mirror finish for aviation components.
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- Precision inserts processed by slow wire EDM (accuracy ±0.003mm), ensuring forming accuracy (tolerance ±0.01mm) for 0.5mm thin-wall holes.
2. Die Casting: Aviation-Grade Process Control
- Vacuum Die Casting Technology:
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- Injection speed increased to 80m/s, with three-stage pressure boosting (initial pressure 80MPa → intermediate pressure 120MPa → final pressure 180MPa), achieving casting density ≥99.5% and ultrasonic flaw detection defect rate <0.1%.
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- Mold temperature control accuracy ±2℃ (realized via 3D printed conformal cooling channels), reducing deformation caused by uneven cooling (flatness error ≤0.05mm/100mm).
- Semi-Solid Die Casting: For difficult-to-form alloys like 7075, using thixotropic injection (solid phase rate 50%-60%), reducing filling pressure by 30% and crack occurrence rate from 15% to 2%.
3. Post-Processing: Micron-Level Precision Correction
- Precision Machining:
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- Five-axis CNC machining center (positioning accuracy ±0.002mm) processes assembly datum surfaces with flatness ≤0.01mm, meeting the “zero-clearance” assembly requirement for aviation components.
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- Electrochemical deburring (accuracy ±0.005mm) ensures no residue in 0.3mm deep narrow grooves, avoiding fatigue failure due to stress concentration.
- Surface Strengthening Treatment:
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- Hard anodizing (film thickness 50-100μm), surface hardness ≥300HV, wear resistance increased by 5 times, suitable for landing gear connection parts.
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- Electroless nickel-phosphorus alloy plating (coating thickness 15-25μm), passing 1,000 hours of salt spray testing without corrosion, meeting marine climate requirements.
4. Core Technological Breakthroughs: Overcoming Aviation-Grade Performance and Precision Challenges
1. Structural Lightweight Design Technology
- Topology Optimization Combined with Additive Manufacturing: Lightweight design via Altair Inspire removes 40% redundant material, while adding bionic reinforcing ribs (thickness 0.8-1.2mm) in stress-concentrated areas, reducing part weight by 25% and increasing stiffness by 20%.
- Thin-Wall Forming Technology: Breaking through the 1mm wall thickness limit, achieving 0.8mm thin-wall forming yield ≥95% (industry average 75%) through mold runner optimization (cross-sectional area error ±2%) and high-speed filling (speed ≥60m/s).
2. Simulation and Reliability Prediction
- Multi-Physical Field Coupling Analysis: Simulate part deformation under high-altitude low pressure (20kPa) and low temperature (-55℃) via ANSYS Workbench, prediction error ≤1.5%, ensuring dimensional stability during flight attitude changes.
- Fatigue Life Prediction: Based on Miner’s linear cumulative damage theory and flight load spectrum (100,000 cycles), fatigue life prediction error ≤8%, with 实测 life of key components ≥120% of design value.
3. Defect Detection Technology Upgrade
- CT Tomography: 0.1mm resolution detects internal defects, achieving 100% full-size 3D reconstruction, ensuring 100% identification of 气孔 ≥0.2mm (traditional X-ray detection miss rate 5%).
- Fluorescent Penetrant Inspection: Using aviation-specific penetrant (sensitivity level L1), detects 0.05mm micro-cracks with penetration time controlled at 15±2 minutes, ensuring zero miss of surface-breaking defects.
5. Aviation-Grade Quality Control: The Pursuit of Zero Defects under Stringent Standards
1. Material Traceability and Certification
- Blockchain Traceability System: Full-process data on-chain from aluminum ingot melting (furnace number traceability) to finished product delivery, material composition deviation ≤0.05%, ensuring compliance with AMS 4130 and QQ-A-2118 standards.
- Aviation Certification Support: Providing AS9100D certification, PPAP documents, and material traceability reports (storage period 15 years), meeting airworthiness certification requirements such as FAA and EASA.
2. Process Control: Second-Level Data Collection
- IoT Smart Production Line: Collect 50+ parameters (injection pressure, mold temperature, vacuum degree) per cycle, data uploaded to MES system, automatic shutdown for calibration when parameter fluctuation exceeds ±1%.
- First Article Three-Inspection System: First article must pass CMM measurement (200+ test points, Cpk≥1.67), metallographic analysis (grain size ≥Grade 7), and mechanical testing (tensile strength fluctuation ≤2%), with mold traceability activated for any non-compliance.
3. Finished Product Inspection: Aviation-Grade Standard Coverage
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Inspection Item
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Inspection Method
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Aviation-Grade Standard
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Compliance Rate
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Dimensional Accuracy
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Coordinate Measuring Machine
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Key dimensions ±0.015mm, geometric tolerance ±0.02mm
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100%
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Internal Defects
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CT Scan + Ultrasonic Testing
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0 tolerance for defects ≥0.2mm
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100%
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Mechanical Properties
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Electronic Universal Testing Machine
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Tensile strength ≥98% of standard value, elongation ≥8%
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99.8%
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Fatigue Life
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Vibration Fatigue Test Bench
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Simulated flight load cycles ≥100,000 without cracks
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100%
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6. Full-Cycle Custom Service: Matching the Extreme Needs of Aviation Industry
1. Collaborative R&D: In-Depth Integration from Design to Forming
- Early Design Involvement: Participate in preliminary aviation component design, providing DFM suggestions (e.g., demolding draft ≥1.5°, wall thickness difference ≤2:1), reducing post-mold modification risk by 90% and R&D cycle by 20%.
- Custom Material Development: Jointly develop high-temperature resistant aluminum alloy (added 1.2%Cu+0.5%Mg) for new aero-engines, increasing tensile strength by 25% at 350℃, applied to a certain turbofan engine bracket.
2. Agile Delivery: Aviation-Grade Project Management
- Rapid Prototyping: Using aluminum simple molds (life 500 shots), deliver first samples in 7 days, supporting rapid aviation component verification (traditional cycle 15 days).
- Mass Production: Intelligent scheduling system prioritizes aviation orders, with a dedicated mold library (20 sets of universal mold bases in stock), emergency orders initiated within 48 hours, delivery cycle 30% shorter than industry average.
3. After-Sales Guarantee: Full Life Cycle Service
- On-Site Technical Support: Provide on-site process debugging for aviation customers (e.g., heat treatment deformation correction for landing gear brackets), increasing yield from 85% to 98%.
- Long-Term Quality Tracking: Establish exclusive files for aviation components, regular 回访 (quarterly), assisting customers with 37 design optimizations, reducing maintenance costs by 18%.
7. Aviation Die Casting FAQs: Professional Answers to Key Customization Questions
Q1: What is the minimum wall thickness for aviation aluminum alloy die castings?
A: Current mature processes stably produce 1mm wall thickness components. Through semi-solid die casting, 0.8mm wall thickness yield reaches 95%, with 0.5mm extreme wall thickness process under development (trial yield 80%).
Q2: How to meet non-destructive testing requirements for aviation components?
A: Adopt 100% CT scan (resolution 0.1mm) + fluorescent penetrant inspection (sensitivity L1 level), with additional ultrasonic testing (frequency 10MHz) for key components, ensuring zero miss of internal and surface defects, compliant with ASTM E1444 standard.
Q3: What industry certifications are required for custom aviation die castings?
A: Provide AS9100D quality management system certification, material AMS specification certification, PPAP documents, and FAA/PMA airworthiness certification support, meeting global aviation access requirements.
Q4: What is the cycle from drawing to mass production?
A: Standard process: 5 days for requirement confirmation → 15 days for mold design → 40 days for mold machining → 10 days for trial casting → 7 days for production preparation, totaling ~77 days. Complex structures can be compressed to within 60 days via parallel engineering.
Choose XIAMEN GOLDCATTLE Die Casting: Your Reliable Partner for Aviation-Grade Customization
Every innovation in the aviation industry begins with breakthroughs in precision manufacturing. With 20 years of technical accumulation, XIAMEN GOLDCATTLE Die Casting provides full-process solutions for custom aviation aluminum alloy die castings, from material R&D and precision forming to airworthiness certification. Whether for high-load engine components or lightweight fuselage structures, we define casting quality with aviation-grade standards, helping customers achieve dual improvements in performance and efficiency. Leave your customization requirements now, and let’s inject lightweight power into the aviation industry with precision technology!
(Message Area: Please specify component type, application scenario, and performance indicators. We will provide an exclusive technical proposal within 24 hours.)
