PRODUCT RESOURCE FILE TECHNOLOGY IN ACTION
History
Tis casting is an automotive transfer case hous- ing, which is used on a full-sized four wheel drive truck. Prior to its arrival at Aallied Die Casting of Rutherfordton, NC a division of RCM Industries this project was experiencing a fallout rate of over 7% (70,000 ppm) at the customer. Te result of this was that the customer needed to leak test 100% of the castings; those that failed leak testing were impregnated. Due to the high volume of the casting a solution was needed to reduce costs associated with the unforeseen issues. Tis is where Aallied Die Casting was given an opportunity to de- liver a better quality product to the customer.
Aallied Design
Aallied was placed into an intense scenario involving high profile customers, which meant that our only option was to design our way to success. By using the most powerful and advanced tools at our disposal, such as MAGMASOFT, and our collective knowl- edge, the Aallied team had the confidence and ability neces- sary to charge forward without reservation. Tis was one of the key factors as to why this project was such a success.
Figure 3: Extensive machining is performed at the customer. Aallied Die Casting performs none of the secondary machining.
70,000 ppm to 150 ppm: How One Die Caster Uses Technology to Profitably Produce a Challenging Automotive Castings.
MASOFT simula- tion, Figure 2.
Figure 1: The simulation of the transfer tool showed that the filling pattern trapped exces- sive amounts of air during filling.
Figure 2: The optimized runner design greatly reduced the occurrence of trapped air.
Further optimiza- tion was achieved utilizing another tool within the MAGMASOFT software. After reviewing the air pressure result, we noticed the transferred design did not have ad-
equate venting. Te optimized gating system provided a more uniform frontal flow and improved the initial air pressures. However, uniform flow alone was not sufficient to eliminate the high air pressures in the die cav- ity, and properly placed chill vents were added to correct this issue.
All of this optimization allowed Aallied to eliminate the need for the squeeze pins which were present in the previous die caster’s design. Tis reduces the complexity of the tool. It also reduces the complexity of the process making it more robust a reliable. Te improved robustness is clearly shown in the resulting reduction in fallout.
Improvements After implementing all of these design
Te Aallied team has been using MAGMASOFT products for 16 years, and we utilize this valuable engineering tool on every project we undertake. By working together with our multidisci- plinary team we are able to include all of the parameters that we use in the real world, allowing us to have the utmost confidence that our results are as close to optimal as possible.
After the die arrived at Aallied die casting, we were able to ana- lyze the runner and gating system using MAGMASOFT. Te simulation results immediately showed that the filling pattern was not optimal. Numerous trapped air pockets were indicated during the fill of the casting, Figure 1. Te Aallied team went to work optimizing the gating and runner design to reduce the entrapped air pockets and achieve a more uniform frontal flow. With small changes to the runner and gating system the team was successful reducing the trapped air indicated in the MAG-
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METALCASTING EQUIPMENT, PRODUCTS & SERVICES 2014-15 21
changes a massive improvement in casting quality was experienced. Te customer was able to eliminate the 100% leak testing and impregnation. Tis created cost and time savings for the customer and the end result is that the fallout at the customer currently stands at 0.015% (157 ppm) over the last 6 months of production. Tis represents a total of approximately 21 defective parts out of over 130,000 shipped castings. Tis is even more impressive considering that the part is also heavily machine by the customer. Tere is no secondary processing, no machining, no 100% xray, and no 100% leak testing performed at Aallied. An example of the machined casting is shown in figure 3.
Continuous improvements drive designs and processes at Aallied Die Casting, which allows us to produce the best possible product at the best possible cost. By having the confidence to design and optimize our designs with MAG- MASOFT the Aallied team was able to design a successful process, which benefited all companies involved.
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