ahead to produce prototypes, finished castings were ready for delivery just 17 days later. The soft tooling was created via urethane board, and the cores were blown and assembled in a complex core package. While earlier simulations provided a great foundation for the water passage’s design, tweaks were necessary before final casting. “I would say simulation got us 80 to 85% of the way there, but we had to dial in a bit with a different in-gate,” Kahaian said. “We had to add a few chills here and there. It took a few iterations, maybe three or four, until we produced a great, void-free casting.” T e water passage was cast in a nobake mold using a low pressure casting process with the under- standing an eventual production part would most likely be cast in a semi-permanent mold. T e alumi- num casting then was machined with a fi ve-axis CNC machine, before the addition of eight steel tubes and sealing caps. It then was leak checked to 30 psi. T e testing for such prototypes in particular can prove to be challenging. A casting that fails in an automotive development application can lead to considerable setbacks in both time and cost, meaning prototypes must be delivered with all the necessary certifi cation. “T ese parts, because of where
they’re headed, get extra special attention in terms of testing and checks when compared to a produc- tion part,” Johnson said.
Continuing Support Once prototypes were delivered,
TEI remained in contact with its customer. With this water passage, the fi rm remained involved in its progression through to production. “We follow projects from first
contact all the way through to production,” Johnson said. “You learn so much about the casting and the process, you can help make the introduction to production much smoother. Very often, we will be involved directly with the produc- tion foundry. If there’s a Tier-1
Nov/Dec 2014 | METAL CASTING DESIGN & PURCHASING | 29
“
The industry has been chang- ing.What used to take a few months or a few weeks now takes a few days or a few hours. When it comes to work- ing with a customer, it’s about walking down that path and getting familiar with that part of the process.”—TED KAHAIAN
supplier, they will be meeting with us to give us input on the produc- tion process.” After casting a few hundred
prototypes, TEI recently learned it has entered production in a tilt pour mold. Meanwhile, the TEI team has begun working on the next generation of the component. “T e industry has been chang-
ing,” Kahaian said. “What used to take a few months or a few weeks now takes a few days or a few hours. Really, when it comes to working with a customer, it’s about walking down that path and getting familiar with that part of the process. If we can successfully collaborate with one another, we can make quality cast- ings much, much faster.”
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