the future of America’s favorite sport. But before that, a lot of work was
necessary.
Casting the Mask Pizzuti came to Richard Singer,
president, Acra Cast, with some sketches and an idea but it needed much more development. Singer knew they needed something in the 3D CAD format and sent Pizzuti to an engineering firm in Saginaw, Michigan, that had performed some finite element analysis work for Acra Cast. After Pizzuti did that and came
back with designs, they continued to consult engineers on the use of fillets, where to place the gating and other items to improve castability. Te 3D rapid prototyping was subcontracted to Express Prototyping in Almont, Michigan. Material was removed, the diameter was trimmed and other parts of the mask were modified to achieve weight targets and address other additional issues to make it more practical for use. Te final mask weighs between 1-1.25 lbs. and measures 9 x 7 x 6 in. “Tere were quite a few versions
over the course of several years, and even today, if we were to develop a new concept we’re still going to pro- totype those first to see how they cast and run them through the testing,” Singer said. “Tere’s virtually no dif- ference once we go to a rubber mold and a wax pattern in the test perfor- mance of a casting made off a printed pattern vs. a poured wax pattern. So we’re still using that as new product and new designs are developed.” Te decision to use 309 stain- less steel came down to fluidity and ductility. Singer said it flows well into molds and fill the thin wires of the mask, something he said has “worked out pretty good.” “We’re still struggling with some
shrink issues at some of the junctures, so we’re doing a little bit of cosmetic welding, not any structural welding,” Singer said. “You get the occasional shrink and pits, at some of the inter- sections, so we’ll do some cosmetic welding and blending there.”
24 | MODERN CASTING July 2016
A completed helmet is shown, complete with a visor and Zuti face mask. In terms of actually casting the
masks, Singer said there isn’t a prac- tical way to make a metal injection mold that would be used with other parts because of the complexity of the shapes within the mask. To help, Singer contracted an art metalcaster to build rubber molds around masters, which were used to build silicon rubber molds backed up
with fiberglass backing. “Making the wax patterns has
been one of the more complicated aspects of this whole project,” Singer said. So has filling the molds. Singer
said Acra Cast is running the molds at 2,000F when they typically pour into an 1,800F mold. “We’re bumping up our mold
alloy temperatures and you have to pull that out of the furnace and pour it quickly in order to avoid non-fill issues,” Singer said. Te result is a radical and unusual mask. Cosmetically, the masks look
different than the traditional ver- sions but they are made to fit the products of the most prominent helmet manufacturers. One design has honeycombs in the front grille; other geometries with smoother corners are also possible. Like traditional masks, they are
Casting allows for intricate face mask designs.
rubber-coated by another facility in any color the end-user needs, adding a distinctive look for a team looking to stand out. Tat, however, might be the
Photo courtesy of John Pizzuti.
Photo courtesy of Richard Singer.
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