Process-Integrated Determination of the Material Properties of Thin-Walled Die-Cast Components

Conventional characterization of die-cast components relies on destructive tests that are performed after casting and often require separate specimens, limiting their representativeness of the finished part. This work explores shearing as a process-integrated method for extracting material information. Force–displacement curves recorded during shearing were evaluated for aluminum and magnesium die-cast alloys and compared with tensile tests and computed tomography (CT) measurements. The peak shearing force scaled with tensile strength, the post-peak displacement reflected ductility, and a reduced mechanical work of the curve indicated elevated volumetric defects. The shearing force signals exhibited high repeatability and reproduced the material trends from tensile and CT data. The study demonstrates that shearing can provide a compact, inline, and nondestructive means of monitoring strength, ductility, and defect content in die-cast production.