in action CASTINGS
3-D Printed Molds Solve Shrink, Core Float Issues
Cast Component: Valve body. Material: Steel. Process: 3-D printed sand mold.
Casting Supplier: Emerson Process Management-Fisher/Ameri- can Foundry Group (Marshalltown, Iowa).
Application: Control valve for the refi nery industry. Weight: 980 lbs.
Dimensions: 36 x 36 x 24 in.
• While the designs and standards behind Fisher Flow Controls’ valves have evolved to solve tougher customer challenges for over 100 years, the valve casting process had remained largely unchanged. Emerson is investing in improving these traditional processes to give customers a higher degree of reliability with shorter lead times.
• When traditional casting methods led to shrink and core fl oat issues on the Fisher NPS 16 CL300 Vee-Ball rotary control valve body casting, Emerson contacted ExOne (Troy, Michigan) for equipment capable of converting the casting into digital 3-D printed molds.
• To test this process, Emerson selected a control valve body casting with a known high prob- ability for rework to three suppliers using traditional casting methods and compared the results with that of the sand printed mold. T e 3-D printed mold eliminat- ed the shrink and core fl oat issues and led to savings in weld repair time and cost.
12 | METAL CASTING DESIGN & PURCHASING | Jan/F
SING | Jan/Feb 2017
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