E-Manufacturing One-Off Intricate Castings Using Rapid Prototyping Technology
E-Manufacturing One-Off Intricate Castings Using Rapid Prototyping Technology
D. K. PAL
Scientist ‘C’, DRDO, Naval College of Engineering,
INS Shivaji, Lonavla-410 402, India
Dr. B. RAVI
Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department,
Indian Institute of Technology, Powai, Mumbai-400 076, India
L. S. BHARGAVA
Scientist ‘F’, DRDO, Naval College of Engineering,
INS Shivaji, Lonavla-410 402, India
E-mail: [email protected]
[email protected]
ABSTRACT
There is an industrial need for rapid manufacture of one-off intricate castings, for defense, vintage
equipment and medical prosthetics. This paper presents a systematic approach for this purpose, using a
combination of reverse engineering, solid modeling, rapid prototyping, rapid tooling and Internet
technologies. Rapid prototyping (RP) technology, involving automated fabrication of intricate shapes using
a layer-by-layer principle, has matured over the last decade. Two basic characteristics of RP make it
eminently suited to e-manufacturing: (1) the main input is a solid model of the part in a facetted format
stored in a STL file (generated by 3D scanning an existing part or by solid modeling), and (2) the
fabrication process is highly automated; no part-specific tooling is required. In practice, there are a large
number of combinations of RP and RT, besides a choice of materials and fabrication equipment. These
decisions greatly influence the quality of the parts (in terms of surface finish, dimensional accuracy, strength
and life) as well as the lead-time and cost. The paper also presents the experimental investigations to
demonstrate the methodology and benchmarking major RP/RT methods for casting application.
Key words: Casting, Solid Modeling, Reverse Engineering, Rapid Prototyping, Rapid Tooling, Internet.
1. INTRODUCTION
The RP processes can be used for directly producing the casting patterns, referred
to as direct rapid tooling. The RP parts can also be used as masters for ‘soft tooling’
processes such as epoxy mass casting, PU face casting, metal spray and RTV molding
(Ashley, 1994; Dvorak, 1998; Chua et al). Thus, the combination of RP and soft tooling
methods can give indirect routes (Figure 1) for casting tooling development (Akarte and
Ravi, 2000). An example of a double step route is an ABS mold by FDM process,
converted into a pattern by PU face Casting. An example of a triple step route is an ABS
plastic pattern master created by FDM, then converted into an epoxy mold by mass casting
and finally converted into a production pattern by PU face casting. The different machine
models and materials available for each RP and RT process give a large number of
potential routes.
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Figure 1: Alternate Tooling Routes for Sand Casting
Several researchers have explored rapid casting development using RP and RT.
Castings produced by LOM patterns were found to be well within the acceptable quality
range and gave 25% cost saving (Mueller and Kochen, 1999). In another investigation, it
was found that LOM tooling yielded about 50% saving in time and cost compared to
aluminum tooling (Wang et al, 1999). The pattern and core box produced for a valve body
directly from FDM process took 73% less time than conventional methods (Sushila et al,
1999). In a study, three alternative approaches (rapid pattern, rapid tooling and hybrid) for
making molds, all starting from Stereolithography process, were compared (Chua, et al,
1998). The RP models were used in investment casting to produce foundry tooling and
castings, saving time up to 60-80% and proving more cost effective than conventional
methods (Warner, 1997). In another investigation, using RP processes to produce the
investment casting pattern and ultimately cast metal parts (Dickens, 1995), it was found
that castings were generally less accurate than the RP model. The foundry experience in
producing the casting from RP pattern was the most significant factor. A similar study was
carried out by NASA to evaluate various RP techniques for fabricating the pattern for a
fuel pump housing (Spada, 2000). It was concluded that RP techniques are effective for
complex 3D patterns.
There is an industrial need for rapid manufacture of one-off intricate castings for
defense, vintage equipment and medical prosthetics. The RP and RT technologies provide
the solution, but are limited by the high costs of installation and maintenance. This can be
overcome by using web-based technologies, to create e-manufacturing systems. A number
of researchers have explored the application of Internet for engineering purposes (Tan,
1998). Most of them have mainly focused on faster and effective communications and on
virtual reality (Broll, 1997). Francis et al have proposed a methodology called Internet
manufacturing (IMAN) for the development of a distributed rapid prototyping system via
the Internet to form a framework of Internet Prototyping and manufacturing for the
support of effective product development (Francis, et al, 2001).
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Internet
4 E-MANUFACTURING OF CASTINGS
1. Log on to the server of the RP company and forward the STL file of the pattern to
be manufactured.
2. The STL file is checked and errors (such as missing facets and dangling edges) if
any, are fixed.
3. Automatic generation of quotation depending on the pattern volume.
4. After the customer accepts the offer, process planning is automatically done
(slicing, scheduling, selection of process parameters, etc.).
5. Part manufacturing is done on the RP machine, followed by post processing and
then packing for delivery.
4
6. The invoice and related forms are generated automatically and forwarded by e-
mail to the express carrier company, who prepares all other forms and papers and
plans the transportation. The pattern is delivered to the customer.
5 CASE STUDY
An industrial component (impeller casting) was selected to demonstrate rapid
casting development. The pattern (Figure 3a) was reverse engineered using Renishaw
Cyclone Laser scanner for getting the Cloud of points (CoPs) (Figure 3b). Using the Laser
scan CoPs, CAD model (Figure 3c) was generated using Imageware surfacer software.
STL format of the CAD Data was used for generating FDM Pattern in ABS plastic
material (Figure 3d). The STL file was sent over Internet to an RP facility with an FDM
machine. This FDM pattern was used for making Aluminium sand casting (Figure 3e).
Five different patterns with Stereolithography (standard and Quickcast), Fused Deposition
Modeling, Thermojet and LOM processes were also fabricated. In addition, a silicone
rubber mold was created using the SLA RP part as master (Figure 4). The results of the
comparative study are summarized in Table 2.
e c
5
a b
c d
e f
6
6 CONCLUSION
Pattern development is the main bottleneck (in terms of time and cost) for
manufacturing one-off intricate castings, especially for replacement purposes. This can be
overcome by a combination of reverse engineering, RP/RT and web-based technologies.
The approach has been demonstrated by taking up an industrial case study of an impeller
casting pattern. The pattern was solid modeled based from the reverse engineering data.
The model was used to fabricate five different patterns with Fused Deposition Modeling,
Stereolithography (standard and Quickcast), Thermojet, and Laminated Object
Manufacturing processes, and a silicone rubber mold using the RP part as master. We
hope that this investigation, along with the comparative data for major RP processes, will
motivate the industry to explore and adopt this new technology.
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