Frequently Asked Questions
Tool life, tolerances, finish, wall thickness, and lead times, by process.
Permanent mold casting
What is the expected tool life of permanent mold tooling?
Approximately 40,000 shots before refurbishment.
What tolerances can I expect with permanent mold casting?
We follow the Aluminum Association Standards for Aluminum Sand and Permanent Mold Castings.
What is the typical surface finish for permanent mold casting?
Typically 125 to 250 rms.
What is the minimum wall thickness for permanent mold castings?
Typically 0.125", but exceptions are possible. This is contingent on geometry.
What are typical lead times for permanent mold cast samples?
Typically 12 to 20 weeks for raw castings from a new die. Add 1 to 2 weeks for secondary machining. Contingent on part geometry and current workload.
What volumes make sense for permanent mold?
From roughly 300 to 500 pieces a year, where it becomes less expensive than sand casting, up to about 50,000 a year. Tilt pour and low pressure cover the same range; the part decides which.
What does permanent mold tooling cost, and who owns it?
Simple parts start around $35,000 to $40,000; large, complex parts with slides can reach $200,000; most tools are under $100,000. The customer owns the die, and it stays at Protocast for production.
Who cuts the permanent mold tooling?
Protocast cuts permanent mold dies in its own tool room whenever possible, and uses domestic tooling partners when needed.
Do you source your permanent mold tools overseas?
Typically we do not. However, we can if requested.
What is the difference between high pressure die casting and permanent mold or low pressure die casting?
The main difference is how the die is filled. Each process uses steel tooling. High pressure die casting uses higher pressure to push the alloy into the die. Permanent mold dies can be filled using gravity, such as tilt pour, or low pressure by pushing the alloy into the die from underneath.
Sand casting
What is the expected tool life of sand cast tooling?
Approximately 500 pieces. Dependent on geometry, proper draft, radii, and similar factors.
What tolerances can I expect with sand casting?
We follow the Aluminum Association Standards for Aluminum Sand and Permanent Mold Castings.
What is the typical surface finish for sand casting?
Typically 350 to 450 rms.
What is the minimum wall thickness for sand castings?
Typically 0.160", but exceptions are possible. This is contingent on geometry.
What are typical lead times for sand cast samples?
Typically 4 to 6 weeks for raw castings. Add 1 to 2 weeks for secondary machining. Contingent on part geometry and current workload.
Capabilities
Where is your work performed?
Most every service we offer is performed under our roof in Commerce City, CO.
Do you pour steel or iron castings?
No. Protocast is a non-ferrous foundry that focuses on aluminum and zinc cast and machined parts. Aluminum is the large majority of what is poured.
Do you offer die casting?
Yes. Protocast offers high pressure die casting for programs that need it, and permanent mold for the many programs at 100,000 pieces a year and under where permanent mold is the better fit.
Do you offer pressure or leak testing and x-ray?
Yes, to customer-defined procedures, along with fluorescent penetrant inspection and tensile testing when a program requires them.
Do you offer machining in house?
Yes. 3, 4, and 5 axis machining capabilities are all available.
Do you offer heat treating in house?
Yes. Protocast has one of the largest aluminum heat treating systems in the state of Colorado.
Do you offer anodizing, chem film, or powder coating?
Yes. Anodizing, chem film, and powder coating are all available.
Can Protocast provide chemical analysis and/or tensile testing?
Yes. An in-house spectrometer is available.
Engineering
Can Protocast perform flow simulation for my casting?
Yes. Most parts are verified with our EKK flow simulation software at the quote level.
Can I get DFM feedback with my quote?
Yes, most quotes are returned with DFM feedback.
This page replaces protcast.com/faq/ with the same answers, grouped by process and marked up with FAQ schema so search engines and AI assistants can quote them directly. The old /faq/ address redirects here.
Send the model. Get a quote with engineering feedback.
Question not on the list? The engineering team answers these every day.
- Engineering review with every quote
- Flow simulation before tooling is cut
- Cast, heat treated, machined, and inspected in one building
- Permanent mold tooling cut in house whenever possible
