science

Zamak

Zamak is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Zamak rather than just read about it. In short: ZAMAK (or Zamac, formerly trademarked as MAZAK) is a family of alloys with a base metal of zinc and alloying elements of aluminum, magnesium, and copper. Zamak alloys are part of the zinc aluminum alloy family; they are distinguished from the other ZA alloys because of their constant 4% aluminum composition.

Key takeaways

Zamak belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Zamak to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Zamak from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

ZAMAK (or Zamac, formerly trademarked as MAZAK) is a family of alloys with a base metal of zinc and alloying elements of aluminum, magnesium, and copper. Zamak alloys are part of the zinc aluminum alloy family; they are distinguished from the other ZA alloys because of their constant 4% aluminum composition. The name zamak is an acronym of the German names for the metals of which the alloys are composed: Zink (zinc), Aluminium, Magnesium, and Kupfer (copper). The New Jersey Zinc Company developed zamak alloys in 1929. The most common zamak alloy is zamak 3. Besides that, zamak 2, zamak 5, and zamak 7 are also commercially used. These alloys are most commonly die-cast. Zamak alloys (particularly #3 and #5) are frequently used in the spin-casting industry. A large problem with early zinc-die-casting materials was zinc pest, owing to impurities in the alloys. Zamak avoided this by the use of 99.99% pure zinc metal, produced by New Jersey Zinc's use of a refluxer as part of the refining-process. Zamak can be electroplated, wet-painted, and chromate-conversion-coated well.

Mazak In the early 1930s, Morris Ashby in Britain had licensed the New Jersey zamak alloy. The 99.99%-purity refluxer zinc was not available in Britain and so they acquired the right to manufacture the alloy using a locally-available electrolytically-refined zinc of 99.95% purity. This was given the name Mazak, partly to distinguish it from zamak and partly from the initials of Morris Ashby. In 1933, National Smelting licensed the refluxer patent with the intent of using it to produce 99.99% zinc in their plant at Avonmouth.

Standards Zinc alloy chemical composition standards are defined per country by the standard listed below:

Zamak goes by many different names based on standard and/or country:

The short European designation code breaks down as follows (using ZL0430 as the example):

Z is the material (Z=-zinc) P is the use (P=pressure-die-casting (casting), L=ingot) 04 is the percent aluminum (04=4% aluminum) 3 is the percent copper (3=3% copper)

Zamak 2 Zamak 2 has the same composition as zamak 3 with the addition of 3% copper in order to increase strength by 20%, which also increases the price. Zamak 2 has the greatest strength out of all the zamak alloys. Over time it retains its strength and hardness better than the other alloys; however, it becomes more brittle, shrinks, and is less elastic. Zamak 2 is also known as Kirksite when gravity-cast for use as a die. It was originally designed for low volume sheet-metal-dies. It later gained popularity for making short-run injection-molding-dies. It is also less-commonly used for non-sparking tools and mandrels for metal-spinning.

KS The KS alloy was developed for spin casting decorative parts. It has the same composition as zamak 2, except with more magnesium in order to produce finer grains and reduce the orange peel effect.

Zamak 3 Zamak 3 is the de facto standard for the zamak series of zinc alloys; all other zinc alloys are compared to this. Zamak 3 has the base composition for the zamak alloys (96% zinc, 4% aluminum). It has excellent castability and long term dimensional stability. More than 70% of all North American zinc die castings are made from zamak 3.

Zamak 4 Zamak 4 was developed for the Asian markets to reduce the effects of die-soldering while maintaining the ductility of zamak 3. This was achieved by using half the amount of copper from the zamak 5 composition.

Zamak 5 Zamak 5 has the same composition as zamak 3 with the addition of 1% copper in order to increase strength (by approximately 10%), hardness and corrosive resistance, but reduces ductility. It also has less dimensional accuracy. Zamak 5 is more commonly used in Europe.

Zamak 7 Zamak 7 has less magnesium than zamak 3 to increase fluidity and ductility, which is especially useful when casting thin wall components. In order to reduce inter-granular corrosion a small amount of nickel is added and impurities are more strictly controlled.

Uses Common uses for zamak alloys include appliances, bathroom fixtures, die cast toys and automotive industry. Zamak alloys are also used in the manufacture of some firearms such as those from Hi-Point Firearms. In World War 2, zamak alloy buttplates were one of three variations common on Canadian and American-made .303 Lee Enfield rifles, particularly during mid-war production.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Zamak

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Zamak claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Zamak before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Zamak ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Zamak

In research: Zamak appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Zamak in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Zamak is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Aluminium–copper alloys, Aluminium–magnesium alloys, Aluminium–zinc alloys, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Zamak outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Zamak in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Zamak means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Zamak out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Zamak in simple terms?

Why does Zamak matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Zamak?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Zamak.