C. Beckermann, G.W. Fischer (IE), D.H. Jensen (IE), and S. Venkatasubramanian (IE)

(sponsored through the American Metalcasting Consortium, AMC, by the Defense Logistics Agency, DLA)

This project is completed as of Summer 1996. A summary paper of the results is available in Modern Casting, September 1996, pp. 29-31. To obtain a copy of the full report, contact the AFS Research Dept. at (847) 824-0181.

Goals and Objectives:

  • Assess current practice and identify barriers to seamless transfer of information between design and manufacturing
  • Recommend software development to ensure seamless information transfer

Effective software tools are needed to drastically reduce lead time and cost of castings. The Casting Software Tools project will determine the capabilities of off-the-shelf software to perform the primary casting design/manufacturing functions and, in particular, their potential for integration in a computer-based casting design software environment. The study will document the capabilities/limitations of software packages in use, and develop a functional design of an integrated casting design environment.

One of the casting software packages examined is MAGMAsoft. Following is the result of a simulation example of the casting of a roadarm (from a tank):

Simulation result of roadarm