Development of an Innovative Casting Process using 3D Sand-printing

增材制造是一项尖端技术，正在彻底改变制造业。它在金属铸造中的应用有可能改变金属铸造工艺。应用增材制造技术开发铜基合金铸造的新型浇注系统将比现有工艺有显著进步。在金属铸造过程中，熔融金属通过直浇道、浇道和浇口在模具型腔中流动。熔融金属表面由于与空气和湿气接触而被氧化并产生氧化膜。氧化物形成的速率随着熔融金属湍流而增加。湍流可导致诸如表面氧化物、氧化物夹杂物、砂夹杂物、气孔和气泡的缺陷。这些缺陷对机械性能有害，并可能导致部件过早失效。通过合理的模具设计和控制金属流动，可以避免由高熔融金属速度引起的湍流。该项目的目的是通过设计一种使用3D砂型打印（3DSP）的浇注系统来有效地控制金属流动，用于铸造铜基合金。使用这种创新工艺制造的铸件产品将具有显着提高的质量。这将导致工业合作伙伴的收入增长以及加拿大业务中高技能人才的就业机会。

Additive manufacturing is a cutting edge technology that is revolutionizing the manufacturing industry. Its application to metal casting has the potential to transform the metal casting process. The application of additive manufacturing for the development of new gating systems for casting of copper-based alloys will present a significant advance over the existing process.In the metal casting process, molten metal flows in the mold cavity through sprue, runners and gates. The molten metal surface can get oxidized due to contact with air and moisture and generate oxide films. The rate of oxide formation increases with molten metal turbulence. The turbulence can cause defects such as surface oxides, oxide inclusions, sand inclusions, blowholes and bubbles. These defects are detrimental to mechanical properties and can lead to premature failure of the components.The turbulence caused by high molten metal velocity can be avoided by proper mold design and control of metal flow. The aim of this project is to effectively control the metal flow by designing a gating system using 3D sand printing (3DSP) for casting of copper-based alloys. The casting products made using this innovative process will possess significantly improved quality. This will lead to growth in revenue of the industrial partner as well as employment opportunity for highly skilled manpower at this Canadian operation.