Title: Rapid casting using alternative approach of pattern and mould making

Authors: Ranjeet Kumar Bhagchandani; Pushkar Kamble; Sajan Kapil; K.P. Karunakaran; B. Ravi

Addresses: School of Mechanical Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India

Abstract: Evaporative pattern casting (EPC) process facilitates the production of parts with complicated geometries. Two major problems associated with EPC are the fabrication of the metal tooling and complicated mould preparation. To overcome these limitations, a novel rapid foam casting (RFC) process is proposed. The complicated pattern geometries as selected on the basis of shape complexity are produced by the author's developed rapid prototyping machine namely 'segmented object manufacturing'. Patterns are then converted into metallic castings by adopting two alternative moulding processes for EPC, i.e., no-bake and green sand moulding. Taguchi's orthogonal array is used for the design of experiments to investigate the effect of the part geometry, pattern density and moulding method on surface finish and dimensional accuracy of the casting. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is also performed to find out the individual participation of each factor on the surface finish and dimensional accuracy of the casting. No-bake sand moulding process gives tighter dimensional tolerances and better surface finish in comparison to green sand mould. The study also proves that even if several designs are being produced with the same complexity, it will yield the same quality. [Submitted 9 April 2020; Accepted 14 August 2020]

Keywords: rapid foam casting; RFC; rapid prototyping; evaporative pattern casting; EPC; segmented object manufacturing; SOM; expanded polystyrene.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMR.2022.124993

International Journal of Manufacturing Research, 2022 Vol.17 No.2, pp.218 - 236

Received: 09 Apr 2020
Accepted: 14 Aug 2020
Published online: 22 Aug 2022 *

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