Metal Casting Zone Info Blog

In times past, paper and pencil were the most important tools a casting designer had – and the development of a casting was a technique that was tedious and lengthy. A paper design was created ; the blue print was introduced to the die caster – who ganged up with a toolmaker. Together, a die-casting machine was chosen ; the method and mold layout developed and costs estimated. Quotations were made. The bidding winner gave authorization to his tool seller to order die steel and begin with mold coming up with. When finished, the mold was sent to the die caster for a first test. After building it into the machine, castings were made and checked for defects.

Come visit us right here for more Metal Casting Info and get two Metal Casting Ebooks Metal Clay Tools.
http://www.metalcastingzone.com/

It was not until this point in the process that those concerned got any concept about the quality of the casting. If the casting failed to measure up to the desired standards, changes would have to be made. Different process settings and minor die corrections might be done at the die-casting machine straight away – but if the first trial proved that the mold had to be modified, steel had to be ground away and welded back in other places, and that work needed to be done at the tool seller’s facility. The mold traveled back and forth between toolmaker and die caster until an acceptable casting quality was achieved. The time between starting the casting design and shipping good castings could take weeks, months or years depending on the complexity and size.

Additionally, mold designs could – and did – change, even after production had started, and those changes meant molds could have different designs, different ages and wearing patterns, and different casting qualities. In addition to mold changes, variations in production parameters like die casting machine pressures, pouring velocities and transitions, lubrication volumes and locations, solidification and cycle times changed across the casting process. The never-ending need to adjust and improve the casting stopped only when the casting wasn’t required anymore. Working toward a better casting quality kept a huge team active with involvements of the method engineer, the machine operator, mold maintenance and toolmaker, quality office, casting designer, casting machining, even assembly and material planning and handling group.

While there was a point when this type of ‘engineering’ was necessary, the business facts of today make it financially unfeasible to resume in this fashion – but despite that, this “engineering” can be found in companies that are wrestling their way through difficult times.

“The die casting industry’s capacity in the U.S. Shrunk … With the closing of plants that were not able to keep up with technology…” Daniel L. Twarog, President NADCA, Letter from the Publisher, LINKS, Feb 2009

Streamlining the method Today

With the addition of PCs into factories, the engineering process is continually changing and becoming more streamlined. Casting are now not drawn on paper and tooling dimensions don’t have to be transformed to mold drawings anymore. Computer assisted designs available in 3-dimensional volume models allow info to be transferred with the push of a button and be used as input directly into the steel machining kit. Changes in models can be made quickly and easily shared with all design departments.

The great value of computerization lies in the chance to develop, design and build at virtually the same time. These parallel working conditions decrease the development time and speeds ‘time-to-market’ to a level that wasn’t even dreamt of years ago. Computerization in the engineering and manufacturing process have also permitted for more precise machining equipment in the tool shops, customized die steels and heat treatment processes that allow changes based factors such as : length of production run and material in direct contact to the melt or for better heat transfer and heat flow.

Come visit us right here for more Metal Casting Info and get two Metal Casting Ebooks Metal Clay Tools.
http://www.metalcastingzone.com/