Casting For Improved
Defense Readiness (CIDR) Program Machinability of Ferrous Castings
The Missouri University of Science & Technology (formerly University Missouri-Rolla) has just completed a project to document and develop tools that help both designers and foundries predict how the casting process affects machinabil- ity of ferrous parts. Casting issues such as core placement, molding process requirements, and adjacent section size ef- fects were evaluated. The benefits to DLA include enhanced design practices for machined features on castings that will improve casting quality and lead times of final part delivery. The project was reviewed at CastExpo’10. Anyone wishing information should contact Prof. Von Richards, Missouri University of Science and Technology, at
vonlr@mst.edu.
Refractory Coating Thickness
The Western Michigan University project focused on improv- ing the techniques employed by the foundry industry for mea- suring refractory coating thickness. Internal surface defects are consistently attributed to large variations in coating thick- ness and limitations of the application methods on coated cores. The AFS Sand Division estimates that approximately $60 million is spent on labor, energy, and scrap to control metal penetration defects in castings. This situation is most serious for short production runs where adequate quality control is critical for on-time delivery of quality components. The project final report is complete and presentation made at CastExpo’10.
Anyone wanting information should contact
Prof. Sam Ramrattan, Western Michigan University, at sam.
ramrattan@wmich.edu.
Superior Weapons Thru Casting (SWC) Program
Three new AFS projects will start under the Superior Weap- on Systems Thru Castings (SWC). This program has fund- ing secured for both FY09 and FY10, and is under a Co- operative Agreement (CA) obtained by ATI for AMC with Benet Labs. The AFS projects include High Strength & High Toughness Cast Aluminum Alloy at UAB, Developing an Improved Combination of Strength and Permeability for Investment Shells used with Foam Patterns at MS&T and Visual Inspection of Casting (joint sponsorship with SFSA and NADCA) at ISU and Schorn Associates. Updates on these projects and others under this AMC slate of projects will be given during AMC Annual Technology Review to be held June 23-24, 2010 at Sheraton Gateway Suites, Chicago- O’Hare, IL. Those interested about information on the pro- gram or attending should contact Thornton C. White, ATI, Senior Program Manager, at
whitet@aticorp.org or visit the ATI website to Register Online at:
http://amc.aticorp.org/ techreview.html
High Strength, High Toughness, Cast Aluminum Alloy
There is an ongoing need to reduce the weight and cost of military weapon systems. High strength, high toughness, cast aluminum alloys could meet this need in applications such as armor and structural components. The objective of the proposed research is to optimize the chemistry of an exist- ing high strength aluminum alloy (BAC 100TM
), which may
be suitable for mortar base applications, and develop a me- chanical property database for designers. This alloy was de- veloped for military applications as a potential substitute for wrought aluminum alloy 2519, but needs to be optimized for specific applications. After optimization, the statistical varia- tion in mechanical properties (strength, toughness) needs to be determined for design purposes. The goal of this material development program is to produce an aluminum casting al- loy with properties that meet MIL-DTL-46192C, Aluminum Alloy Armor, Rolled Plate, Weldable.
During the develop-
ment, both high strength and high toughness variants will be developed for specific military applications. The Principal In- vestigators for this project are Dr. Alan P. Druschitz & John Griffin, University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Developing an Improved Combination of Strength and Permeability for Investment Shells used with Foam Patterns
The importance of this project is that manufacturing pro- cesses to produce larger complex shapes with tight dimen- sional tolerances is needed. This is especially true for lower volume and higher strength cast materials, like steel, which is very important in the area of large caliber weapons sys- tems development and production. Investment casting with foam patterns is currently a preferred technology with Benet for producing limited run large scale (over 300 lbs) parts of complex shape. This technology will allow the produc- tion of lighter weight parts. This project will improve thin section fill and dimensional reproducibility for steel castings such as muzzle brake and breech components (loading trays and raven breech nozzle for example). The potential for this technology to address this need has been demonstrated, but optimization is required to take full advantage of the poten- tial of the technology to improve quality and reduce pro- duction lead times. The program will combine development activity and tests conducted at MS&T with industrial trials on defense relevant components. It is anticipated that future work could focus on additional components, more complex assemblies and other cast metals and alloys. The Principal Investigator for this project is Prof. Von Richards, Missouri University of Science and Technology.
International Journal of Metalcasting/Spring 10
85
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