OUR PROCESS
IT ALL STARTS WITH YOU.
Do you have an idea, print, 3D model or sample? The LA Aluminum team of specialists can turn your idea into a finished product. Each of the departments (Tool Making, Foundry, Machining, Quality Assurance, and Finishing) work together to develop the best strategy to manufacture to your specific casting criteria.
In some cases, we are able to recommend design modifications that will increase productivity, enhance the functionality of a part, or reduce mass and other changes that reduce the cost to the customer.
Once the strategy is decided upon, we proceed to our design and mold-making process.
Have a Question?
Talk to one of our specialists with any questions you may have.
TOOLING DESIGN & MOLD MAKING
Once we have a clear and concise manufacturing strategy, we move to the tooling design and mold-making process.
- Our Engineers begin by evaluating your design and determine the most effective way to achieve optimum casting strength and surface finish. Gates and risers are added to the design to facilitate a good flow of aluminum throughout the part.
- Solidification software is run on your part to detect and predict the best casting design. This step ensures your castings will be optimized for maximum manufacturing efficiency.
- Next, our tool makers use CAD/CAM software to write the programs and create 3D renderings of the casting. The tooling is then modeled to ensure the mold will produce parts according to print specifications.
- The design code is sent to one of our CNC Machining Centers where we begin cutting the part design into the mold.
- In most cases, our preferred tooling material is high-strength steel because of its excellent stability and superior tool life. These qualities save our clients from unnecessary tool reworking costs over the life of the product. Permanent molds will produce tens of thousands of parts throughout their lifetime.
Once we’ve created the tooling to your specifications, the tooling becomes your property. We take great care in prepping, cleaning, warehousing, and maintaining your tools so that they will supply high-quality castings for years to come.
Have a Question?
Talk to one of our specialists with any questions you may have.
AFTER CREATING THE MOLD, WE TAKE IT TO THE FOUNDRY.
- At LA Aluminum, we melt only the best certified aluminum alloy ingot. Our specialty is casting alloy A356, though others are no stranger to us.
- Ingots are placed in our electric or gas crucibles and heated to approximately 1,350 degrees Fahrenheit. Our melting capacity is 5,600 pounds per hour.
- We preheat the molds and coat the internal surfaces with a refractory material. Next, we ready any inserts and assemble any cores.
- Temperature control is critical in all aspects of the pouring process. Thermocouples and infrared temperature sensors are used to ensure optimum temperature control.
- The first castings poured from a new tool are called first articles. The first articles must pass our quality department inspection and tests prior to being sent to you for evaluation.
- Once your approval is received, the molds are ready for full production.
We specialize in permanent mold casting (also referred to as gravity die casting or permold), using static pour, tilt pour, or reverse tilt pour casting method variations.
- Permanent mold casting or gravity die casting refers to the use of gravity to feed molten aluminum into a reusable mold or die.
- Using the static pour method, the preheated molds are closed and installed into a stationary base. Molten aluminum is poured into a spout located at the top of the mold. After a set amount of time, the mold is opened and the part is removed.
- When the tilt pour method is used, molds are placed horizontally into a hydraulic actuated tilt machine. Aluminum is poured into cups attached to the mold and an operator initiates the machine to tilt vertically to allow aluminum to fill the mold cavity. After a set amount of time, a programmable control positions the mold horizontally where the part is removed.
- In traditional tilt pour, the mold parting line is perpendicular to the floor during the solidification process whereas with reverse tilt pour the parting line is parallel to the floor. Reverse tilt pour is ideal for radial type castings, such as wheels, hubs, compressor housings, automotive structural castings and cookware. This method is not limited to radial type castings; it’s also been used to cast parts like high performance brake calipers.
- Some part designs call for the use of a steel core or sand core (also called shell core) to hold the inner dimension or hollow section of a part.
- Steel cores generally operate mechanically in the mold and are reusable.
- Sand cores or shell cores are placed in the mold before closing. This is also referred to as semi-permanent molding.
- We remove the sand core from the aluminum part by breaking it apart using a vibratory process sometimes called “shake out.”
- After removing gates and risers, the inlets are sanded as required before being carefully loaded into specially designed heat treat baskets and staged to be heat treated.
- Our Drop Bottom heat treat and age oven heat treat ovens are certified for uniformity of temperature annually.
- The amount of time in the heat treat and the temperature are critical factors since the temper of the alloy is determined in this process. We typically heat treat parts to a T51 or T6 condition. The heat treat process is verified by testing the hardness of the castings per your specification.
Have a Question?
Talk to one of our specialists with any questions you may have.
ONCE THE CASTINGS HAVE FINISHED THE HEAT TREAT PROCESS, THEY MOVE TO THE MACHINE SHOP.
Our seasoned machinists and operators program the CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machines to fulfill your specifications.
Not only do we provide an expansive in house Machine Shop for our casting clients, we also offer machining services for other materials including aluminum, brass and steel.
LA Aluminum can supply machined aluminum prototypes.
From simple turning operations on the lathes to complex machining tasks on our 4-axis horizontal machining centers, LA Aluminum provides you with a turnkey solution to fit most requirements.
Have a Question?
Talk to one of our specialists with any questions you may have.
FINISHING, POWER COATING, AND ASSEMBLY
LA Aluminum saves you additional time and money by doing the finishing work for you:
- Deburring
- Sanding
- Grinding
- Vibrating
- Polishing
- As-cast
- Anodize
- Chromate Conversion
- Powdercoat
- Sand/Bead Blast
- Bright Dip
- Lettering, Trademark
View our downloadable Finishes pdf and RMS surface finish scale.
We provide complete assembly as an additional service to improve your savings.
Ship us the additional components for your product and we will assemble and ship directly to your end user.
Have a Question?
Talk to one of our specialists with any questions you may have.
FINISH OPTIONS

AS-CAST HEAT TREATED

ANODIZE

CHROMATE CONVERSION

POWDER COAT

SAND BLAST

BRIGHT DIP

LETTERING
HERE AT LA ALUMINUM, WE TAKE QUALITY SERIOUSLY.
We understand delivering consistently exceptional products is vital to your success. That’s why we’re ISO 9001:2015 Certified and have built our culture around quality.
We have adopted the philosophy of “Striving for Continuous Improvement.” Every employee at LA Aluminum is aware of the impact of his or her job and how it relates to providing the best quality product to our customers.
We have designed our Quality Assurance Program to accommodate a wide variety of industries, including aerospace, automotive, commercial, dental, medical, marine and military. Our primary goal is to meet or exceed customer requirements.
Rest assured, your parts will arrive to your exact specifications because we perform routine checks during each operation using a variety of testing methods including “go and no-go” gauges, micrometers, height gauges, calipers, thread gauges, bore gauges and ring gauges. We regularly calibrate and certify all equipment and gauges to MIL-STD 45662.
We always measure your first article and full production parts using an in-house Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM). The CMM measures with precision and accuracy, especially in hard to reach areas.
In addition to the above, we also offer the following value added services to save you time and money.
Pressure Testing- We use a specialized pressure testing unit measures pressure loss for castings that are used in liquid or air applications.
Hardness Testing- Our unit tests the Rockwell or Brinell hardness of an aluminum casting.
We can also provide you with Heat Treat Certification and Material Certification.
Have a Question?
Talk to one of our specialists with any questions you may have.