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Die cast aluminum "crocodile snouts," coming down the production line at Alcoa’s Chicago works. Some of the largest die castings ever produced, they are oil pans for 220-horsepower Cummins diesel engines. Although their weight (33 pounds) is not a record, the sheer length, width and breadth of the parts is considered extraordinary. The dimensions are four feet by 14 inches by 12 inches. Alcoa utilizes a machine with locking pressures of 2,000 tons. The steel dies weigh over 25 tons. The casting replaces a 55-pound aluminum permanent mold piece. If the same part were cast iron, says Cummins, it would weigh over 120 pounds.