Metal casting using soluble pattern produced via additive manufacturing

Metal casting using soluble pattern produced via additive manufacturing

Conventional metal (sand) casting requires solid patterns consisting of two halves (cope and drag) prepared to remove the pattern. The approach is simple but leads to numerous steps and mismatch errors. Also, sand, a porous material, is very sensitive to vibration and susceptible to cracks and break...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of advanced manufacturing technology Vol. 134; no. 7-8; pp. 3905 - 3923
Main Authors: Mittal, Yash Gopal, Patil, Yogesh, Kamble, Pushkar, Gote, Gopal, Mehta, Avinash Kumar, Karunakaran, Karuppasamy Poolan
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: London Springer London 01-10-2024
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:
ABS resins
Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene
Additive manufacturing
CAE) and Design
Calcium compounds
Casting
Ceramic mold casting
Ceramic molds
Computer-Aided Engineering (CAD
Dimensional analysis
Dissolution
Engineering
Extrusion molding
Industrial and Production Engineering
Investment casting
Lead time
Manufacturing
Mechanical Engineering
Media Management
Original Article
Pattern analysis
Pattern generation
Plaster casting
Porous materials
Sand
Sand casting
Sand molds
Surface finish
Water baths
Water chemistry
Thermoplastic ABS
Additive manufacturing
Investment casting
Soluble pattern
Screw extrusion
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Conventional metal (sand) casting requires solid patterns consisting of two halves (cope and drag) prepared to remove the pattern. The approach is simple but leads to numerous steps and mismatch errors. Also, sand, a porous material, is very sensitive to vibration and susceptible to cracks and breakage. This research presents a novel approach for investment metal casting, where a water-soluble material is used for pattern generation using material extrusion additive manufacturing (AM). As a proof of concept, a semi-complex non-prismatic geometry with various dimensional features is physically realized using this soluble pattern casting (SPC) technique. The pattern is designed and 3D printed out of a water-soluble acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) thermoplastic using an indigenously fabricated screw extrusion–based AM setup. A ceramic mould is created from plaster of Paris (PoP) around the soluble pattern, generating the mould cavity on further dissolution. A heated water bath with added turbulence via solid vibrations assisted the dissolution process. The final geometry is realized by firing the mould cavity followed by metal pouring. Various geometrical features and intricate details, such as layer lines, are satisfactorily replicated from the 3D-printed pattern to the final metal casting. The dimensional accuracy and surface finish are analysed along the process, starting from the printed pattern to the ceramic mould cavity and the final metal cast part. The presented method has applications in investment casting (IC) industries as it can help significantly reduce the lead time and provide excellent dimensional conformance and geometrical replication from the pattern to cast.
ISSN:0268-3768
1433-3015
DOI:10.1007/s00170-024-14339-4