Zinc is a chemical element that is the 27th most abundant element in the Earth’s crust. Naturally occurs in air, water, soil and biosphere, in fact it is contained in many rocks and minerals, in plants and animals. Zinc is essential to all lives.
Ten things you need to know about Zinc
- Pure metallic zinc was not discovered until 1746, and its discovery was made by Andreas Sigismund Marggraf, a German chemist from Berlin and a pioneer of analytical chemistry.
- A new zinc mine in China has been discovered. It is set in the far-western region of Xinjiang and is considered one of the largest in the country due to its 19 million tons of zinc
- In the past zinc was used for medicinal purposes
- Zinc is the fourth most widely used metal in the world
- One of its most common use is to eliminate rust. It is used in zinc galvanizing for its anti-corrosive properties.
- Zinc is also contained in batteries
- In 2016 the top three countries that produced zinc were China, Australia and Peru
- Zinc is a mineral that is normally contained in some food. It has many advantages as antioxidant defects, it is used against infections and it is effective as good tissue repair
- Zinc, also combined with other materials, can be used in die casting fittings in the automobile manufacturing industry and mechanical industry
- Zinc is a easily available metal and its applications are commonly widespread because of its decorative and functional applications
And what about die casting?
Regarding construction Zinc is one of the alloy commonly used, in fact for more than 150 years has been used to protect products from corrosion and nowadays is also used in roofing and paneling systems.
Zinc is also widely used in manufacturing processes such as die casting. It is preferred to other materials because of its quality of the finished outcome and the ease of its manufacture, it allows closer tolerances than any other metals and with zinc is possible to cut secondary operations and to cut costs.
Zinc is the perfect material to translate an idea into a product. It allows innovative shapes and unconventional finishing.
For its properties of strength and duration zinc is the right choice to save money and time.
Compared to other materials zinc is more precise than aluminum, in fact using it the designer can produce smaller draft angles, smaller and longer cored holes and thinner wall sections.
Compared to magnesium, zinc performances are much superior than magnesium ones, in particular in terms of cost ratio and rigidity to cost ratio.
Finally, compared to cast steel, zinc allows complex features with more precision and smoother surfaces.
Zinc allows to reach the aesthetic and functional requirements given by clients in a cost and time saving approach.
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