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Zamak 3 vs. Balsa

Zamak 3 and balsa belong to fundamentally different material chemistries. Zamak 3 is a metal, while balsa is a polymeric material. Therefore, their performance will be even more dissimilar than would be suggested by the difference in properties. There are 15 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (22, in this case) are not shown. Please note that the two materials have significantly dissimilar densities. This means that additional care is required when interpreting the data, because some material properties are based on units of mass, while others are based on units of area or volume.

For each property being compared, the top bar is Zamak 3 and the bottom bar is balsa.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Compressive (Crushing) Strength, MPa 410
7.0
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 86
3.0
Elongation at Break, % 11
1.2
Poisson's Ratio 0.25
0.38
Shear Modulus, GPa 33
0.23
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 280
14

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 410
1700
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 110
0.1
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 27
6.5

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Density, g/cm3 6.4
0.13

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 7.5
13
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 12
30
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 15
99
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 43
0.45
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 8.6
51