Casting industry
Posted in CAD, CAM, casting on February 25th, 2009 by adva – Be the first to commentMetal casting – a 7000 year young industry – produces 65 million tons of components worth US$120 billion annually, used in automobiles, aircraft, agriculture, mining, marine engines, machine tools, pumps, valves, motors, generators, municipal fittings and machinery for cement, chemical, steel, thermal and other plants.
The USA, China, Japan, Germany and India are the top five producers of castings. These have 22,000 foundries (of 32,000 worldwide), accounting for 2/3rd of the total production. Grey iron, ductile iron, steel and aluminum are the most important metals, produced by sand, shell, permanent mold, pressure die and investment casting processes.
Cast bronze frog, circa 5000 BC
Casting is the most economical route to produce intricate metal components. Starting from a drawing, it takes 3 weeks to 3 months to produce a typical casting. Of this, 70% time is consumed in tooling development and trial runs. About 3-10% castings are rejected during inspection in a foundry. Some defects may show up during the machining stage. New technologies need to be explored to reduce the lead time and increase the quality assurance.
By combining the oldest and the latest technologies (casting and CAD/CAM) together – to revolutionize the way cast parts will be conceived and produced in the new millenium.