ZAMAK (or Zamac, formerly

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...

ed as MAZAK) is a family of

alloy An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which at least one is a metal. Unlike chemical compounds with metallic bases, an alloy will retain all the properties of a metal in the resulting material, such as electrical conductivity, ductilit ...

s with a base metal of

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

and alloying elements of

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...

, and

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

. Zamak alloys are part of the

zinc aluminium Zinc-aluminium (ZA) alloys are alloys whose main constituents are zinc and aluminium. Other alloying elements include magnesium and copper. This type of alloy was originally developed for gravity casting. Noranda, New Jersey Zinc Co. Ltd., St. Joe ...

alloy family; they are distinguished from the other ZA alloys because of their constant 4% aluminium composition. The name ''zamak'' is an

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

of the German names for the

metals A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typical ...

of which the alloys are composed: (zinc), , and (copper). The

New Jersey Zinc Company New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

developed zamak alloys in 1929. The most common zamak alloy is zamak 3. Besides that, zamak 2, zamak 5 and zamak 7 are also commercially used. These alloys are most commonly

die cast Die casting is a metal casting process that is characterized by forcing molten metal under high pressure into a mold cavity. The mold cavity is created using two hardened tool steel dies which have been machined into shape and work similarly ...

. Zamak alloys (particularly #3 and #5) are frequently used in the

spin casting Spin casting, also known as centrifugal rubber mold casting (CRMC), is a method of utilizing inertia to produce castings from a rubber mold. Typically, a disc-shaped mold is spun along its central axis at a set speed. The casting material, us ...

industry. A large problem with early zinc die casting materials was

zinc pest Zinc pest (from German ''Zinkpest''), also known as zinc rot and zamak rot, is a destructive, intercrystalline corrosion process of zinc alloys containing lead impurities. Prepared under the direction of the ASM International Handbook Committee. ...

, owing to impurities in the alloys. Zamak avoided this by the use of 99.99% pure zinc metal, produced by New Jersey Zinc's use of a

reflux Reflux is a technique involving the condensation of vapors and the return of this condensate to the system from which it originated. It is used in industrial and laboratory distillations. It is also used in chemistry to supply energy to reactions ...

er as part of the

smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a ...

process. Zamak can be electroplated, wet painted, and chromate conversion coated well.

Mazak

In the early 1930s Morris Ashby in Britain had licensed the New Jersey zamak alloy. The 99.99%-purity refluxer zinc was not available in Britain and so they acquired the right to manufacture the alloy using a locally available electrolytically refined zinc of 99.95% purity. This was given the name Mazak, partly to distinguish it from zamak and partly from the initials of Morris Ashby. In 1933, National Smelting licensed the refluxer patent with the intent of using it to produce 99.99% zinc in their plant at

Avonmouth Avonmouth is a port and outer suburb of Bristol, England, facing two rivers: the reinforced north bank of the final stage of the Avon which rises at sources in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset; and the eastern shore of the Severn Es ...

. It is colloquially known among UK car restoration hobbyists as monkey metal.

Standards

Zinc alloy chemical composition standards are defined per country by the standard listed below: Zamak goes by many different names based on standard and/or country: The Short European Designation code breaks down as follows (using ZL0430 as the example): * Z is the material (Z=Zinc) * P is the use (P=Pressure die casting (casting), L=Ingot) * 04 is the percent aluminum (04= 4% aluminum) * 3 is the percent copper (3= 3% copper)

Zamak 2

Zamak 2 has the same composition as zamak 3 with the addition of 3% copper in order to increase strength by 20%, which also increases the price. Zamak 2 has the greatest strength out of all the zamak alloys. Over time it retains its strength and hardness better than the other alloys; however, it becomes more brittle, shrinks, and is less elastic. Zamak 2 is also known as Kirksite when gravity cast for use as a die. It was originally designed for low volume sheet metal dies.. It later gained popularity for making short run injection molding dies. It is also less commonly used for non-sparking tools and mandrels for metal spinning.

KS

The KS alloy was developed for spin casting decorative parts. It has the same composition as zamak 2, except with more magnesium in order to produce finer grains and reduce the

orange peel An orange is a fruit of various citrus species in the family Rutaceae (see list of plants known as orange); it primarily refers to ''Citrus'' × ''sinensis'', which is also called sweet orange, to distinguish it from the related ''Citrus × ...

effect.

Zamak 3

Zamak 3 is the

de facto standard A ''de facto'' standard is a custom or convention that has achieved a dominant position by public acceptance or market forces (for example, by early entrance to the market). is a Latin phrase (literally " in fact"), here meaning "in practice b ...

for the zamak series of zinc alloys; all other zinc alloys are compared to this. Zamak 3 has the base composition for the zamak alloys (96% zinc, 4% aluminum). It has excellent castability and long term dimensional stability. More than 70% of all North American zinc die castings are made from zamak 3.

Zamak 4

Zamak 4 was developed for the Asian markets to reduce the effects of die soldering while maintaining the ductility of zamak 3. This was achieved by using half the amount of copper from the zamak 5 composition.

Zamak 5

Zamak 5 has the same composition as zamak 3 with the addition of 1% copper in order to increase strength (by approximately 10%), hardness and corrosive resistance, but reduces ductility. It also has less dimensional accuracy. Zamak 5 is more commonly used in Europe.

Zamak 7

Zamak 7 has less magnesium than zamak 3 to increase fluidity and ductility, which is especially useful when casting thin wall components. In order to reduce inter-granular corrosion a small amount of nickel is added and impurities are more strictly controlled.

Uses

Common uses for zamak alloys include appliances, bathroom fixtures, die cast toys and automotive industry. Zamak alloys are also used in the manufacture of some firearms such as SW380,

Hi-Point Firearms Hi-Point Firearms, also known as Strassell's Machine, Inc (distributed by MKS Supply), is an American firearms manufacturer based in Mansfield, Ohio. All of their firearms are manufactured in several different locations in Ohio. Construction of ...

handguns and carbines.

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Generic Terms For Zinc AlloysZinc Die Casting Alloy Guide
Zinc alloys