Zamak

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.