Metal casting can be one of the most efficient and economical processes to manufacture a metal component. To make maximum use to the capabilities of casting, the design engineer, purchaser, and metal casting facility producing the component should communicate and coordinate design features that improve manufacturability and consider secondary operations and use. This workshop will provide you with an interactive overview of various metal casting processes and alloys so that you can make better design and sourcing decisions for your engineered cast components. The application of additive manufacturing and rapid prototyping technology to assist in reducing the time and cost to develop new component designs and examples of conversions from other manufacturing process will be discussed. The goal of this workshop is to inform the designer and purchaser to understand how the proper material/process marriage can unleash the power of metal casting and how they will be better equipped to create the most cost-effective product. Another goal is to present considerations that should be made for both ferrous and non-ferrous parts, show how casting can be used to integrate unique features, and discuss applications. Finally, we will discuss Part Optimization (Inspire Software) by removing ALL current manufacturing constraints that are no longer applicable using AM.
Learning Objectives:
- Educate non-foundry engineers and designers on the various casting technologies
- Explain how the applications of additive manufacturing technologies in the casting process can reduce time and cost
- Provide an overview of the various metal casting processes and alloys used in the casting industry to achieve better cast components
- Understand how additive manufacturing can be used to improve component design, performance, cost and time to market
