In the Japanese industrial standard (JIS), a permeability measurement method for ceramic materials is introduced. They are used for various ceramics such as bricks or concrete materials. There is a possibility to improve accuracy and stability of permeability measurement by the JIS method. However, this method is currently not applicable for investment casting shell molds. In this study, a sample preparation process and sample shape are checked to apply the JIS method for shell molds. Then, a relationship between shell conditions and permeability values is studied.
10:40 a.m. – 11:20 a.m. A New Innovative Way to Melt Metal Kermit Buntrock, Buntrock Industries, Booth No. 313 Buntrock Industries and New Wave Ceramics Crucibles
have partnered together to bring some new melting technology to the investment casting industry utilizing microwave energy. A special crucible which contains a microwave energy absorber is placed in a microwave field; the microwave energy heats the crucible and will melt any alloy placed inside the crucible. This technology offers numerous advantages to our industry including: • Cleaner metal because of no crucible contamination • Flexibility to melt different alloyswith min. down time • No water consumption • Safety • Space & cost saving This paper will discuss both energy requirements and the design of the microwave melting unit which offers both tilt pour and bottom pour ability.
This furnace design assures
that the microwave melting and casting system can be easily integrated into the investment casting industry.
11:20 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. A Shop Floor Approach to Continuous Improvement in IC CF8M Components for Biomedical Applications Dr. Roger Lumley, AW Bell Pty Ltd., Booth No. 313 The current study formed part of a continuous improvement
program in which components made from Alloy CF8M used in biomedical devices were evaluated. The purpose of the study then was to isolate causes of scrap or rework and in particular, those that required remediation by defect removal and repair. Perceptions of the established production methods and poor understanding of acceptability criteria were found to be some of the major impediments to long term remediation of
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problems. A range of variables were examined that relied on accurate record keeping and measurement of key quality data by shop floor staff, as opposed to management or technical staff. It was shown that, among the variables assessed, over processing the investment casting shells prior to casting, de-slagging procedures during melting, entrained oxides, alloy composition, shell temperature, melt temperature, and manual handling during casting all had major influences on variability. Understanding these variables in detail meant that the amount of scrap, rework, welding and straightening of castings was able to be significantly reduced. Providing shop floor staff with the ability to actively
contribute to R&D programs and hence manufacturing process development was found to be one of the greatest contributors to improving productivity of investment cast stainless steel in a production environment.
12:00 p.m. – 12:40 p.m. LUNCH - Disneyland South Ballroom
12:40 p.m. - 1:20 p.m. Advanced Plasma Coating of Wax Injection Moulds – Eliminating Release Agents from the IC Process Dr. Dirk Lehmhus, Fraunhofer IFAM Investment casting is based on processing large quantities
of lost wax patterns. The common process for producing these is wax injection moulding, which requires release agents (e.g. silicone oils) to facilitate the demoulding process. Without these release agents, ejection of the wax patterns without damage is impossible. However, the use of release agents entails a number of disadvantages, among them economic and environmental as well as health issues. These include the cost of cleaning wax patterns to wash away residues of release agents, as well as the contamination of the working environment and thus possible health hazards for employees caused by silicone aerosols. Furthermore, release agents can bring about quality issues in the wax room and necessitate costly efforts at their removal from the injection moulds. In our successfully completed research project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi, AiF IGF 18915N), an innovative, ready-to-use alternative has been developed in the form of a long-term stable plasma polymer release coating which allows complete elimination of any additional release agent. This surface coating is characterized by its excellent adhesion to the metallic mould and in particular by its high cohesion strength and low surface energy. The coating exactly reproduces the geometry and surface features of the injection mould and does not influence its dimensional accuracy, as the maximum layer thickness is limited to approx. 2 µm. The coating can be applied both on new and already used production moulds. Re-coating has also been demonstrated successfully. In the course of an initial validation in an industrial environment, a German Foundry has produced more than 40,000 wax parts (turbocharger wheel) completely free of release agents. Other pilot customers are already using the coating successfully and profitably in series production.
May 2022 ❘ 25 ®
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