detailset DESIGN
Parting Plane Freedom Aids Consolidation
JITEN SHAH, PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT & ANALYSIS, NAPERVILLE, ILLINOIS CASTING PROFILE
Cast Component: Brush guide for power distribution. Process: Investment casting. Material: Silicon bronze. Weight: 1.1 lbs. Dimensions: 13 x 1 x 1.75 in.
tion in a glass forming furnace. Originally a 35-piece assembly, the component was redesigned into a fi ve-piece assembly consisting of three castings and two springs. Produced by Acra Cast Inc. (Bay City, Michigan), the redesigned brush guide helped the OEM reduce the cost for each assembly by $100, eliminate delivery costs from the European supplier by making the part in the U.S., and reduce the lead time from fi ve months to six weeks.
T Stiffeners Pockets
Near-net-shaped features, like cored pockets and stiffening webs, are possible with investment casting process.
• T e determining factors for as-cast features are the cored pocket size, web section thickness, ease of wax pattern making and assembling, ability to fl ow liquid slurry to make the shell/mold, and the fl uidity of the cast alloy.
he investment casting process delivers a great amount of freedom to design engineers with respect to feature placement, zero draft, and complexity and off ers close dimensional tolerances and excellent sur- face fi nish. T e process allows for consolidating complex sub-assem- blies, which is what happened with a brush guide for power distribu-
As-cast card slot
14 | METAL CASTING DESIGN & PURCHASING | Mar/Apr 2017
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