Solving the World’s Toughest CFD Problems
FLOW-3D CAST offers valuable support for optimizing casting design and system performance. This article examines the filling process during the development phase through two examples. Then a case study from Project Engineering GmbH, a long-time customer of FLOW-3D CAST, demonstrates best practices in die casting technology and the economic benefit that simulation delivers.
The goal of a casting simulation is to predict casting defects and find the corrective measures to avoid such defects. To achieve this, the casting simulation must accurately predict the physical results. In this article, we illustrate a validation of FLOW-3D CAST by comparing simulation results with experimental findings. For this validation, we selected an aluminum casting with significant porosity defects. The extent of the porosities meant that the casting would not fulfill the functional specification and would be rejected.
The new, patented Advanced Core Solution (ACS) process aims for time- and energy-efficient core drying and curing. The ACS process uses a property common to all inorganic binder systems: because they are water-based, they are electrically conductive.
Mold filling and solidification simulations of the investment casting process were carried out using FLOW-3D CAST. Parametric studies have been conducted to study the effect of casting parameters on the casting process.
Mould design is a complex undertaking that must consider not only fluid dynamics and metal solidification patterns, but problems that may arise from the mould itself and how it reacts to stresses from heat transfer. In this case study, CM Taricco, a mould maker company based in Italy, discusses how they solved the problem of metal leakages at the bottom of one of their new moulds.
In high pressure die casting, simulation software is used to help design better gating systems to feed the metal into the casting, improve the timing of the shot sleeve tip to prevent air entrainment due to turbulence, and identify the most effective locations for overflows, among other things. In this article, we will look at how to reduce the time before a part can be ejected from the die in order to reduce the process time.
One casting defect that has yet to be thoroughly addressed is the common core gas blow defect. The physics of this problem involves a complicated interaction between the metal, core and binder. Failure to solve it can result in high scrap levels. Read about how GM Powertrain and Graham-White Manufacturing Co. addressed core gas defects with FLOW-3D CAST.
Littler Diecast was able to demonstrate that they could pinpoint the defects through simulation without previous knowledge of the problems. This impressed the client enough to land them the job.
In the late 15th century, Leonardo Da Vinci spent 17 years devising a plan to cast a 24-ft. tall bronze horse—the largest equestrian statue in the world—in a single pour.
With the goal of compressing die-cast process development time, modeling with FLOW-3D has become an integral part of Shiloh Industries’ engineering department.
Researchers from the University of Erlangen-Nurember concluded that FLOW-3D CAST is an important instrument to investigate potential weak points in the fabrication of new integral foam parts before their actual production. In that way, a successful filling and blowing agent distribution without cold flow or dead zones can be assured.