The die designer is constrained by the part design as it is an end-user requirement, over which he has very lim­ited or no flexibility. Generally, the design of an HPDC die starts with part modeling, followed by the shot design.

This case study is a simple example of minimizing the runners and overflows of a die casting shot design of an alternator bracket casting, thereby reducing the cost. Fig­ure 2a shows the shot design before optimization.

This case study is an example of an approach towards the application of flow and solidification simulations to cor­relate the location and inevitability of shrinkage porosity. Analysis of Results Flow analysis followed

It is a common practice to make dies with interchange­ able inserts and core pins to produce different variants from a same die to overcome the cost implications. This is more so in the case of low volume parts where die cost per piece is very high.

Several instances of repeated failures of the die casting process resulted in high rejects, premature failure/short life of the die, etc., which are yet to be resolved. This case study is an example of one such die for a part, a filter head of a fuel filtering system

The die casting process is generally associated with dimensionally critical parts and focuses on the specifica­tions. The aesthetical requirements are not exclusively defined and monitored. This results in unpredictable effect on the product quality