Case Study
Redesign of Steering Wheel Simulates the Die Casting, Produced in 5 Days
“A long time customer, a large OEM, contacted us to part- ner up on a recently redesigned steering wheel armature to have the outside ring machined from 304 stainless steel billet, which then would have the armature over molded around the ring in AZ91E magnesium using the investment casting pro- cess,” Eric Ziemba of Aristo-Cast, Inc. explained. The customer was looking for two armatures to simulate the die casting de- sign, which would be used for testing purposes while the die cast tooling was under construction. To make the best use of the investment casting process, Aristo-Cast engineers worked with the customer to eliminate machine stock and design a net shape armature pattern. Using their in-house Voxeljet VX1000 printer, Aristo-Cast produced sample armature patterns, while the steel rings were concurrently machined from 304 stainless steel billet. The resulting patterns were assembled around the rings and put through the investment casting process. This approach resulted in the first armature being produced in less than 5 days. Overall, four castings were produced to meet the customer’s specifications against a very aggressive schedule.
Aristo-Cast, Inc.
PART: Steering Wheel Armature Size: 13.350 x 12.150 x 5.000” Alloy: 304 SS and AZ91E Magnesium
Additive Manufacturing Answers Customer Need for Near Term Production
“Our customer approached us looking for a source for a 5 sided emitter housing. The challenge they faced was not in manufacturing the medium sized casting, largely comprised of 0.185” walls, but was in addressing tooling costs against the annual need of five to ten parts per year,” explained Marlo Swedzinski of Carley Foundry, Inc.
The foundry suggested
printed Voxeljet patterns until a future date where part volume would justify tooling costs. Carley continues to receive orders for the finished part, which undergoes machining and clear coat post casting processes, the volume of which still supports the use of additive manufacturing.
PART: Emitter Housing Size: 14.83 x 14.0 x 9.25 Alloy: A356-T6 Notes: Investment casting saves tooling costs with additive manufacturing.
Carley Foundry, Inc. June 2019 ❘ 13 ®
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