Die Cast Aluminum Components We Manufacture
Five families of custom die cast aluminum parts, each cast from a dedicated steel die to a customer drawing, machined and finished in the same facility in Dongguan, China.
Five part families, organised by the engineering problem they solve
CharMax Precision manufactures custom die cast aluminum parts in five families: structural housings, sealed electronic enclosures, load-bearing brackets and mounts, thermal heat sinks, and general mechanical components. All are cast to customer drawings in A380, ADC12, A360 and A413 aluminum at part weights from 20 g to 12 kg, then machined, finished and inspected in the same facility.
The families are grouped by what a part has to do rather than by the market it sells into, because the design rules change with the job. A housing is dimensioned around bearing bores and sealing faces. An enclosure is dimensioned around gasket compression and ingress protection. A bracket is dimensioned around load paths and stiffness. A heat sink is dimensioned around fin geometry and alloy conductivity. Grouping the pages this way keeps the guidance on each one specific enough to design against.
None of these are stock parts. Each one is cast from a steel die cut for a single customer's geometry, which is why every enquiry starts with a 2D drawing and a 3D model rather than a part number.
Part capability summary
| Part families | Housings, enclosures, brackets, heat sinks, mechanical components |
|---|---|
| Casting process | Cold chamber high pressure die casting |
| Machine range | 160 to 1,250 tons of cold chamber clamping force |
| Part weight | 20 g to 12 kg per casting |
| Part envelope | Up to 700 × 500 × 300 mm |
| Alloys | A380 aluminum, ADC12 aluminum, A360 aluminum, Aluminum-silicon alloys |
| Wall thickness | 1.5 mm typical, 1.0 mm achievable on small parts |
| Tolerances | ±0.1 mm on as-cast features, ±0.02 mm on machined features |
| As-cast surface | Ra 1.6-3.2 µm as-cast, Ra 0.8 µm machined |
| Volume range | 500 to 500,000+ parts per year |
Explore each die cast aluminum part type
Every part page covers what the family is, which alloys suit it, which features are cast and which are machined, the design rules specific to that geometry, and the questions buyers of that part type ask most often.
Aluminum Die Cast Housings
Structural housings for motors, pumps, gearboxes and valve bodies, machined to sealing and bearing tolerances.
- Motor and pump housings
- Bearing bore machining
- Pressure-tight castings
Die Cast Aluminum Enclosures
Sealed electronic and instrument enclosures with gasket channels, IP ratings and EMI shielding.
- IP65 to IP67 capable
- Integrated gasket grooves
- EMI shielded by design
Die Cast Aluminum Brackets and Mounts
Load-bearing mounting brackets, arms and support structures that replace welded or machined assemblies.
- Ribbed for stiffness
- Consolidates weldments
- Machined mounting datums
Die Cast Aluminum Heat Sinks
Thermal management castings for LED lighting, power electronics and drives with integrated fin geometry.
- Complex fin geometry
- A360 and A413 for conductivity
- Housing and heat sink in one part
Die Cast Mechanical Components
Levers, covers, plates, pulleys, manifold bodies and custom mechanical parts built to drawing.
- Built to your drawing
- Part consolidation review
- Prototype through production
Typical alloy, weight, finish and volume by part family
Use this to sanity-check where your part sits before you send a drawing. If your requirement falls outside a row, that is a conversation rather than a refusal, since the same equipment covers all five families.
| Part family | Typical alloy | Typical weight | Typical finish | Typical annual volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Housings | A380, A360 where pressure tight | 0.2 to 12 kg | Shot blast then powder coat | 2,000 to 50,000 |
| Enclosures | A360, ADC12 for thin walls | 0.1 to 8 kg | Powder coat to RAL or Pantone | 1,000 to 30,000 |
| Brackets and mounts | A380, A360 outdoors | 20 g to 12 kg | Shot blast or chromate conversion | 5,000 to 100,000 |
| Heat sinks | A413 or A360 for conductivity | 50 g to 12 kg | Shot blast or black powder coat | 5,000 to 200,000 |
| Mechanical components | A380, ADC12, A360, A413 | 20 g to 12 kg | As specified on the drawing | 500 to 500,000+ |
These are the ranges we most often quote in each family, not capability limits. Any family can be cast in any of our alloys and finished to any specification on your drawing.
Every part is made to your drawing, not selected from a catalogue
There is no stock list on this site and no part numbers to order against. A die cast aluminum part exists only once a steel die has been cut for its specific geometry, and that die belongs to one customer's program for its whole life. What the pages below describe is the engineering we apply to each kind of part, and the capability envelope your geometry has to fit inside.
A program runs in a fixed sequence. You send a 2D drawing and 3D model, we return a written design for manufacturability report with piece pricing and tooling cost inside 24 to 48 hours, and nothing is committed until you approve both. Tooling then takes 25 to 40 days, T1 samples follow 5 to 7 days after that, and production lead time is 15 to 25 days per batch once samples are approved.
Because tooling is a one-time cost of typically 3,000 to 25,000 USD, die casting suits annual volumes from roughly 1,000 parts upward and stays the cheapest option into the millions. Below about 500 parts a year we will tell you plainly that CNC machining from billet is the better answer, and the same design can move to casting later without being redrawn.
- Send a 3D model in STEP, IGES, X_T, SLDPRT or native CAD format
- Send a 2D drawing marking critical dimensions, tolerances, surface finish and alloy
- State the annual volume and the target price if you have one, so the quote reflects the right cavity count
- Say where the part lives, since an outdoor or wash-down environment changes the alloy and the finish
- Send the assembly drawing as well as the part drawing if you want a part consolidation review
- An NDA is signed before files are reviewed, and tooling is never used for another customer
Related capabilities and resources
Manufacturing services
Aluminum alloys we cast
Industries served
Questions about our die cast aluminum parts
Are any of these die cast aluminum parts available as stock items?
No. Every part on this site is made to order from a steel die cut for one customer's geometry, so there is no catalogue, no stock list and no off-the-shelf price. The five families describe the kinds of parts we cast and the engineering rules that apply to each, not products you can buy as-is. Quoting starts from your 2D drawing and 3D model.
Which product page should I read if my part fits more than one family?
Choose by the part's primary function rather than its shape. If the part locates a shaft, bearing, gear or impeller, read the housings page. If it is a sealed box protecting electronics, read the enclosures page. If it mounts or supports something and stiffness is the design driver, read the brackets page. If it moves heat, read the heat sinks page. Anything else is covered on the mechanical components page.
Can one casting combine two of these functions?
Yes, and it usually should. Combining functions is where die casting beats machining and fabrication most clearly, because a feature that is already in the die costs almost nothing per part. Common combinations are a motor housing with cast cooling fins, a sealed enclosure whose back wall is a finned heat sink, and a bracket with an integral cable channel and sensor mount. Each eliminated interface removes a fastener, an assembly step and a tolerance stack.
What is the largest and smallest die cast aluminum part you can make?
Part weight runs from 20 g to 12 kg, on cold chamber machines from 160 to 1,250 tons of clamping force, with a practical envelope up to 700 by 500 by 300 mm. The limit is projected area rather than weight alone: a large flat part can need more tonnage than a heavier compact one, because clamping force has to resist injection pressure across the whole shadow of the cavity.
What files do you need to quote?
A 3D model in STEP, IGES, X_T, SLDPRT or native CAD format, plus a 2D drawing showing critical dimensions, tolerances, surface finish, alloy and any inspection requirements. If you only have a 3D model we can still quote, but a drawing that marks which features are critical to function will get you a more accurate price and prevent misunderstandings later.
Do you have a minimum order quantity?
There is no rigid minimum once tooling exists, and we regularly run batches of 500 pieces. For new programs, the economics rather than a policy set the floor: below roughly 1,000 annual pieces, we will tell you honestly whether CNC machining from billet would serve you better.
Send a drawing and get your part family assessed
Send your 2D drawing and 3D model and a manufacturing engineer will confirm which part family your geometry belongs to, recommend an alloy, and return piece pricing, tooling cost and a written DFM report.
- Engineering response within 24 hours on business days
- Quotation within 24-48 hours of receiving 2D/3D files
- NDA signed before file review
- Free DFM feedback