Superior Thermal Management: This is the most critical factor for LED lighting. LEDs generate significant heat that must be dissipated to maintain performance, color stability, and longevity. Die-cast metal housings act as integrated heat sinks, pulling heat away from the LED module.
Excellent Durability and Stability: Lighting fixtures, especially outdoor and industrial ones, must withstand vibration, impact, and harsh environments. Die-cast parts are robust and rigid.
Complex, Seamless Designs: The process allows for the creation of intricate, single-piece housing with integrated cooling fins, mounting points and wire channels, reducing assembly parts and costs.
Super Surface Finish: Parts emerge from the mold with a smooth surface, ideal for subsequent finishing processes such as painting, powder coating, or anodizing.
High volume production: This is cost-effective for large-scale production typical of the lighting industry.
EMI/RFI Shielding: Metal housing naturally provides shielding, which is important for some specialized lighting and smart lighting systems.
Common lighting components application pressure die casting
| Component Type | Specific Examples | Key Rationale |
| LED Heat Sinks & Housings | LED bulb housings, downlight cans, spotlight bodies, high-bay light fixtures. | Heat Dissipation: The primary function. Aluminum’s high thermal conductivity is crucial. Fins can be cast directly onto the housing to maximize surface area. |
| Outdoor & Architectural Fixtures | Street light luminaires, floodlight bodies, bollard light housings, garden light fixtures. | Weather/Durability: Provides a sealed, robust enclosure that protects internal components from rain, dust, UV radiation, and physical impact. |
| Decorative & Residential | Aesthetic Flexibility: Can create complex, ornate designs in metals like zinc that are strong yet can be finely detailed and plated to look like brass, bronze, or nickel. | |
| Industrial & Commercial | High-bay and low-bay lighting housings, vapor-tight fixture bodies, troffer frames. | Robustness & Safety: Withstands harsh industrial environments (vibration, dust, moisture) and often has integrated mounting and wiring features. |
| Automotive Lighting | Heat & Precision: Manages heat from high-power bulbs (especially HID/LED) and allows for complex shapes that integrate with the car’s body design. |
Materials Used in Lighting Die Casting
Aluminum Alloys
ADC12 (A383, A360, or similar): The most common alloy due to its excellent casting properties, lightweight nature, thermal conductivity, and corrosion resistance.
ADC10: Similar to ADC12 but with different alloying elements, used for smaller or more intricate parts.
Silumin (Silicon Aluminum Alloys): Sometimes used for specific applications requiring high corrosion resistance.
Zinc Alloys
ZA-8, ZA-12, ZA-27: Used for smaller, intricate, or detailed lighting components because of their excellent casting characteristics and strength.
LED light
The Process in Action: Example of an LED Street Light
1. Design: The housing is designed as a single die-cast part with intricate internal channels for wires and an array of thin, tall cooling fins on the outside.
2. Casting: Molten aluminum is injected under high pressure into a precision-made steel die.
3. Finishing: The raw casting is trimmed, deburred, and then typically powder-coated black or a dark color to maximize heat radiation.
4. Assembly: The LED board is mounted directly onto the smooth, inner surface of the die-cast housing (often with thermal paste) to ensure efficient heat transfer. The driver, lens, and seals are then added.