It is important to remember that the prototyping process is often being used to simulate a product die casting. Although this seems rudimentary and obvious to any designers of cast metal components, it does merit mention here.
Mechanical and physical properties can be significantly different from the prototyping process to the production process. These differences are often due to different solidification rates of the cast material in the differing processes. As an example, 380 Aluminum cast in a production die will have differing mechanical properties than 380 cast in a prototyping process. An alloy switch and subsequent heat treatment can result in mimicking the production alloy for mechanical properties, but the prototyping alloy selection may have differing heat transfer, vibration dampening or corrosion resistance properties than the eventual production alloy.
For more information on how various aluminum alloys perform in the prototyping process versus the die casting process, please visit casting tip number 13. If you need answers to questions not covered by any our casting tips or have a need for more clarification relating to your specific design, do not hesitate to contact us.