in successfully procuring the best castings at the best price. Unneces- sary costs will be incurred if speci- fications for a casting are more de- manding than necessary. Insufficient demands will lead to increased waste and castings that do not meet qual- ity requirements. Follow is a look at
10 considerations when examining your casting design:
ing buyers and designers can gain a clearer picture of both design
1
Need High Quality Near-Net-Shape Castings In Small Quantities?
St.Louis Precision Casting Company Can Save You Time & Money!
We excel as a niche short-run foundry operation producing complex patterns, core boxes, permanent molds, dies and prototype components ranging in weight from a few pounds to 1800 pounds. Section sizes from 1/4 in.
R
Specialty metals poured include alloy steels, stainless steels, tool steels, nickel and cobalt based alloys and all types of Meehanite gray and ductile irons.
We deliver consistently sound, dimensionally accurate castings that live up to the most demanding expectations. Near-net shape castings require fewer cuts, machine faster and lower your costs.
Geometric Complexity Before making any major
purchasing decisions, cast-
complexity and application by asking: Is the casting to be used as-cast? Will the casting be heavily machined? What is the casting application? Processes utilized for tight dimen-
sional tolerances, thin sections and casting complexity tend to be more costly, thus casting design complexity and application have a substantial im- pact on cost. Designs requiring tight tolerances and minimal draft may require special molding processes and, as a result, generally cost more. For example, cored castings are
more costly. If a design calls for cores that form complex internal cavi- ties, the mold may need to be larger. Cores must be made ahead of time, transported to the molding depart- ment and placed into the mold. Also, cored castings often require extra cleaning and trimming. Similarly, wall thicknesses are another important design feature in metal castings related to design com- plexity. Te part’s configuration plays a major role in determining what wall thicknesses can be cast. As an example, in aluminum castings, the normal minimum wall thicknesses will range from 0.12 to 0.25 in. De- pending upon the part’s size and the area involved, thinner wall sections, down to 0.08 in., are possible over limited areas (about 10 sq. in.). Castings with unnecessarily com-
plex geometries, both internally and externally, will increase costs without increasing benefits to the end-user.
2 used:
Want to learn more about our capabilities and how we can serve you?
Call 314-849-4080
E-mail:
sales@stlprecision.com or visit our website:
www.stlprecision.com
26 | METAL CASTING DESIGN & PURCHASING | Jul/Aug 2014
StL1island4_13.indd 1 4/29/13 5:06 PM
One to three degrees of draft are required so patterns can be drawn from the mold without tearing. No-draft pat- terns increase cost.
Type of Metal Casting cost will vary in
three ways based on the alloy
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