SF&E’s goal is to offer customers the least cost option for their metal part needs. Since castings are uniform, they provide equal properties in all directions. Wrought metals are directionally stronger in one direction. It also allows the designer to add mass to increase strength. Single piece castings offers flexibility in material selection, which offers customers more opportunity to select materials based on performance properties and product applications. This makes it more difficult to account for the stresses the product will see. Material selection for fabrication may be limited to material availability or weldability. SF&E recently implemented process improvements that have reduced lead times to 4-6 weeks. In addition, weld joints can diminish the integrity of the weld, leading to part fatigue or failure.Ĭastings are one component and produced from one tool, making the manufacturing process more repeatable, dimensional tolerances generally superior, and appearance visually appealing with a uniform surface finish.Īverage industry lead times vary greatly between 8-30 weeks. Repeatability in manufacturing fabricated/welded assemblies that utilize multiple components or sub-assemblies and fixtures may make the needed dimensional accuracy difficult. This eliminates the need for additional welding, machining, and other secondary processes. Part designs for castings can include features such as clearance holes, slots, pockets, bosses, cast lettering, or artwork. From creating unnecessary inventory, to additional labor and materials, it quickly adds up. The more the components that need to be welded or bolted together, the more the manufacturing complexity. See the fabricated assembly vs casting comparison chart below. There are four main factors to consider when deciding if a design is a good candidate for conversion to a casting: cost, quality, lead time, and performance. Most times, when multiple components are cut, machined and welded, a conversion to casting is ideal. The images below show additional examples of successful conversions. It has resulted in an overall cost savings of 50%. The investment casting is now accepted as the standard for the OEM. Casting provided a more repeatable process for future needs and solved failures the customer experienced with previous fabrications. The design team developed a solution that offered significant quality improvements, reduced inventories, and is more visually appealing. Because of the flexibility of investment casting, the design could be optimized and material selection could be based on the application with no reliance on welding. The team used 3D CAD simulation to develop a cast solution for one part in the series. The SF&E engineering design team worked with an industrial heat treating manufacturer on a series of fabricated hangers that were experiencing failure. The ultimate goal is to provide customers with a functional design that will improve the quality and increase the life of the product, reduce maintenance costs, and offer immediate cost savings. The Stainless Foundry & Engineering (SF&E) engineering team partners with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to convert machined and welded parts to single form castings. When castings are removed from their molds they are near net shape with minimal finishing work needed. Foundries mix custom combinations of elements, iron, aluminum, magnesium, zinc, steel, and copper to create different appearances, corrosion resistance, and strength characteristics. Metal casting is a more cost-effective option for mass producing complex parts because of time, material, and overhead savings alone. When to Convert Costly Fabrications into Castingsĭo your fabricated parts consist of multiple components that need to be cut or machined to size and go through weld fabricating before being machined as one? If so, your parts might be an ideal candidate for a casting.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |