Magnesium alloys are one of the lightest of all the structural materials. Because of their excellent physical and mechanical properties the

alloys have been used more and more often in various branches of industry. They are cast mainly (over 90%) on cold and hot chamber die

casting machines. One of the byproducts of casting processes is process scrap which amounts to about 40 to 60% of the total weight of a

casting. The process scrap incorporates all the elements of gating systems and fault castings. Proper management of the process scrap is

one of the necessities in term of economic and environmental aspects.

Most foundries use the process scrap, which involves adding it to a melting furnace, in a haphazard way, without any control of its content

in the melt. It can lead to many disadvantageous effects, e.g. the formation of a hard buildup at the bottom of the crucible, which in time

makes casting impossible due to the loss of the alloy rheological properties. The research was undertaken to determine the effect of an

addition of the process scrap on the mechanical properties of AZ91 and AM50 alloys. It has been ascertained that the addition of a specific

amount of process scrap to the melt increases the mechanical properties of the elements cast from AZ91 and AM50 alloys.

The increase in the mechanical properties is caused mainly by compounds which can work as nuclei of crystallization and are introduced

into the scrap from lubricants and anti-adhesive agents. Furthermore carbon, which was detected in the process scrap by means of SEM

examination, is a potent grain modifier in Mg alloys [1-3].

The optimal addition of the process scrap to the melt was determined based on the statistical analysis of the results of studies of the effect

of different process scrap additions on the mean grain size and mechanical properties of the cast parts.

The paper deals with problem of optimal used automatic workplace for HPDC technology - mainly from aspects of operations sequence, efficiency of work cycle and planning of using and servicing of HPDC casting machine. Presented are possible ways to analyse automatic units for HPDC. The experimental part was focused on the rationalization of the current work cycle time for die casting of aluminium alloy. The working place was described in detail in the project. The measurements were carried out in detail with the help of charts and graphs mapped cycle of casting workplace. Other parameters and settings have been identified. The proposals for improvements were made after the first measurements and these improvements were subsequently verified. The main actions were mainly software modifications of casting center. It is for the reason that today's sophisticated workplaces have the option of a relatively wide range of modifications without any physical harm to machines themselves. It is possible to change settings or unlock some unsatisfactory parameters.