A problem facing the casting industry is inclusions in the finished parts. The inclusions can be sand from the molds, oxides or other impurities in the metal charge. Inclusions lead to costly part repairing or reworking. A study was done to try and find inclusion trapping devices that could be placed in the gating system. The experiments consisted of pouring water and suitable inclusion models into clear, full scale, plastic molds. The fills were video taped for later analysis. The efficiency of the trapping device was determined from the end location of the inclusions. No work was done on other anti-inclusion methods such as ceramic filters, bottom pour ladles, chemical additives, etc. The research showed that a swirl chamber which used centrifugal force to separate inclusions worked quite well if set up correctly. The optimum setup was a vertical swirl chamber with a well. The inlet passage was choked and located below the exit passage. It also worked much better than any setup which tried to use buoyancy for separation. The large volume of the swirl chamber may be objectionable. However, properly shaped inserts, such as an ice-cream cone shape, can be put into the chamber to reduce fill volume while still maintaining good efficiency and fills. The efficiencies of the chambers behave as expected; faster pours are less efficient and bigger chambers (for a constant size mold) are more efficient. The use of outlet chokes may or may not improve separation efficiency, but will improve the filling of the part cavity. / Graduation date: 1993

Thesis (M. Eng. Sc.)--University of Queensland, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

This investigation was concerned with developing a procedure for using nonexpendable pattern materials in ceramic shell piece molds. Literature relating to this study indicated that nonexpendable materials, used in whole ceramic shell molds, had been limited to frozen mercury.

In the power generation sector, more specifically, the gas turbine industry, competition has forced the lead time-to-market for product advancements to be more important than ever. For design engineers, this means that product design iterations and final product development must be completed within both critical time windows and budgetary constraints. Therefore, two areas that have received significant attention in the research and in practice are: (1) rapid prototyping technology development, and (2) rapid prototyping technology selection. Rapid prototyping technology selection is the focus of this research. In practice, selecting the rapid prototyping method that is acceptable for a specific design application is a daunting task. With technological advancements in both rapid prototyping and conventional machining methods, it is difficult for both a novice design engineer as well as an experienced design engineer to decide not only what rapid prototyping method could be applicable, but also if a rapid prototyping method would even be advantageous over a more conventional machining method and where in the manufacturing process any of these processes would be utilized. This research proposes an expert system that assists a design engineer through the decision process relating to the investment casting of a superalloy gas turbine engine component. Investment casting is a well-known technique for the production of many superalloy gas turbine parts such as gas turbine blades and vanes. In fact, investment-cast turbine blades remain the state of the art in gas turbine blade design. The proposed automated expert system allows the engineer to effectively assess rapid prototyping iii opportunities for desired gas turbine blade application. The system serves as a starting point in presenting an engineer with commercially-available state-of-the-art rapid prototyping options, brief explanations of each option and the advantages and disadvantages of each option. It is not intended to suggest an optimal solution as there is not only one unique answer. For instance, cost and time factors vary depending upon the individual needs of a company at any particular time as well as existing strategic partnerships with particular foundries and vendors. The performance of the proposed expert system is assessed using two real-world case studies. The first case study shows how the expert system can advise the design engineer when suggesting rapid manufacturing in place of investment casting. The second case study shows how rapid prototyping can be used for creating part patterns for use within the investment casting process. The results from these case studies are telling in that their implementations potentially result in an 82 to 94% reduction in design decision lead time and a 92 to 97% cost savings.

The primary objective of this creative project was to fully explore and analyze the centuries old technique of lost wax casting.The secondary objective was to produce a body of work combining my creative inspirations from nature and my African culture.This body of work employed a variety of traditional metalsmithing techniques combining raised/constructed hollow ware, in a variety of metals, with cast metal forms. / Department of Art

The development of a disintegrating core-body for use in an art bronze foundry, which employs the ceramic shell investment process, begins with an investigation of four principal materials that will constitute the core formula. The specifications for the disintegration of the designed core-body formula fall within the parameters that are normally set and used in the ceramic shell art bronze casting process. The raison d’ être for the disintegrating formula is based on the premise that cement breaks down (spalling) after being subjected to heat above a certain temperature. It was shown that pure cement in the form of naked test bars 100 mm x 20 mm x 20 mm does indeed break down into separate pieces when fired to and above 9000C; where 9000C is the lowest recommended temperature required for sintering the ceramic shell investment mould. The addition of calcium carbonate to pure cement in the form of naked test bars, produced a more unified formula that did not break into separate pieces when fired to 9450C. However this combination of cement and calcium carbonate had a slow setting time of 12 hours and a shrinkage value of 2,3%, which were both above the parameters being sought for a quick-setting formula with a shrinkage value of below 1%. The combination of cement, plaster of paris and silica produced formulae that set within six hours and had shrinkage values of less than 1% but did not disintegrate within 72 hours. It was only after the addition of calcium carbonate to the these mixes that formulae resulted that set within six hours, had relatively low shrinkage values and showed signs of breaking up after 60 hours. It was further shown that by altering the ratios of cement, plaster of paris, calcium carbonate and silica, that the parameters for quick-setting formulae with shrinkage values of 1% and below, that also disintegrated within 55 hours, could be achieved. xvi It was also proved by subjecting these formulae to higher relative humidity conditions that the disintegrating times could be reduced and brought to below 48 hours. Selected formulae were then subjected to temperatures of between 9000C and 10000C. It was found that as the temperatures were increased so the disintegration times were reduced and were even further reduced under higher relative humidity conditions. It was found from the above experiments that the selected formula determined to be suitable in all respects as a disintegrating core-body was too difficult to remove from the hollow bronze cast when subjected to an actual bronze pour. Further experimentation using increased proportions of silica in the formula resulted in a final core-body that could be quickly and easily removed from its bronze cast as soon as the core-body had cooled to room temperature. The selected core-body formula (F21D) that was used in the final set of bronze casting procedures was found to function optimally when fired to a temperature of 9000C and could be quickly and easily removed from the bronze casts leaving a clean inner bronze surface, free from any remnants of the fired core. The document concludes by recording the delimitations and advantages of the final core-body formula F21D, as well as making recommendations based on these parameters for further study relating to disintegrating core-body formulations.

Large Area Maskless Photopolymerization (LAMP) is a technology being developed to fabricate integrally-cored ceramic molds for the investment casting of turbine airfoils. In LAMP, ultraviolet (UV) light in the form of bitmap images is projected from a spatial light modulator (SLM) onto a photocurable ceramic material system (PCMS). Exposed and unexposed regions are determined through black and white portions of the bitmaps, respectively. UV light induces photopolymerization and the formation of an insoluble solidified network. Three-dimensional structures are built layer-by-layer through sequential application and curing of PCMS layers of 100 micron thickness. To date, ceramic molds fabricated using LAMP have been successfully implemented in investment casting of single-crystal turbine airfoils without internal cooling schemes. Two particularly important challenges for the fabrication of airfoil molds with internal cooling passages are: (a) fabrication of unsupported structures in the mold geometry and; (b) mitigation of internal stresses that arise during layer-by-layer build-up due to volumetric shrinkage during photopolymerization. Unsupported geometries arise in nearly every cored airfoil mold and often in a location where support structures cannot be easily removed after fabrication. Internal stresses generated by volumetric shrinkage can lead to cracking during binder burnout (BBO), sintering and casting. This thesis aims to simultaneously address these challenges through the investigation of grayscale exposure to control the degree of monomer conversion during photopolymerization of single and multiple layers. The effective intensity of the UV light incident on the monomer system can be reduced by selectively turning off pixels within the nominally "white" or "on" regions of the projected bitmaps, effectively producing an exposure with a lower light intensity. In an effort to reduce internal stresses in the mold, the grayscale exposure can be tuned to create regions of uncured or partially cured monomer within the mold geometry to reduce the connectivity between cured regions and thus reduce the net effect of volumetric shrinkage. Grayscale exposure can also be used to generate support structures with a low degree of polymerization to create a gel state beneath and surrounding the unsupported segments of the mold, which can be washed away after completion of mold fabrication. In order to successfully utilize grayscale techniques in LAMP, the cure depth must be predicted. This is accomplished through cure depth measurements at different exposure times to develop a "working curve." In addition, the degree of monomer conversion and its relation to cure depths resulting from grayscale exposure must be understood. Measurements of the degree of conversion are obtained through Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Empirical models are developed and compared to theoretical predictions. Also, the scattering length pixelation model is introduced as a technique to predict the light intensity distribution within the PCMS for exposure patterns at multiple length scales. Results from these grayscale investigations are then applied to LAMP and the effectiveness of grayscale to fabricate unsupported geometries and internal stresses from volumetric shrinkage is discussed.

Este trabalho tem por objetivo estudar as propriedades mecânicas e a caracterização microestrutural de espécimes da liga de Co-Cr-Mo obtidos por manufatura aditiva fusão seletiva a laser (do inglês Selective Laser Melting SLM) e por fundição de precisão, visando a confecção de próteses odontológicas. A partir de pós de Co-Cr-Mo atomizados a gás foram realizadas as seguintes etapas: 1) investigação das propriedades físicas, químicas e térmicas dos pós atomizados em diferentes faixas granulométricas (denominadas: D1 < 15 &mu;m, D2 de 20-50 &mu;m e D3 > 75 &mu;m); 2) confecção de espécimes, em dimensões padronizadas, por meio das técnicas de consolidação; 3) caracterização dos consolidados por análise de: citotoxicidade, porosidade, difração de raios X e dilatometria; 4) caracterização mecânica de tração, flexão em três pontos, dureza (macro e micro Vickers) e caracterização microestrutural (microscopia óptica e eletrônica de varredura). De modo geral, os resultados obtidos foram: a granulometria D2 (20-50 &mu;m) é a que melhor se enquadra nas análises de empacotamento para a consolidação por meio de SLM; a biocompatibilidade das amostras obteve resultado positivo para ambas técnicas de processamento; a avaliação mecânica dos espécimes evidencia que a técnica de fusão seletiva a laser propicia propriedades mecânicas (tensão de escoamento, tensão de ruptura, tensão máxima, alongamento e dureza) superiores as obtidas pela técnica de fundição de precisão; a microestrutura obtida pelo processo SLM é composta por grãos ultrafinos e de elevada homogeneidade química. Conclui-se que, o desenvolvimento do presente estudo evidenciou que na fabricação de componentes odontológicos customizados (coroas) a técnica SLM apresenta qualidade superior quando comparada a fundição de precisão. / The objective of this work was to study the mechanical properties and microstructural characterization of specimens of the Co-Cr-Mo alloy obtained by additive manufacturing -selective laser melting (SLM) and precision casting aiming at the manufacture of dental prostheses. The following steps were carried out on Co-Cr-Mo gas-atomized powders: 1) investigation of the physical, chemical and thermal properties of atomized powders in different grain sizes (denominated: D1 <15 &mu;m, D2 20-50 &mu;m and D3 > 75 &mu;m); 2) the consolidation of standard specimens via consolidation techniques; 3) characterization of consolidated by analysis of: cytotoxicity, porosity, X ray diffraction and dilatometry; 4) mechanical characterization of tensile, 3 point bending, hardness (macro and micro Vickers) tests and microstructural characterization (optical and scanning electron microscopy). In general, the results observed were: the grain size D2 (20-50 &mu;m) is the one that best fits in the analysis of packaging, for the consolidation by SLM; the biocompatibility of the samples obtained a positive result for both processing techniques; the mechanical evaluation of the specimens shows that the SLM technique provides superior mechanical properties (yield stress, rupture stress, maximum stress, elongation and hardness), compared to those obtained by the precision casting technique; the microstructure obtained by the SLM process results in an ultrafine grains with high chemical homogeneity, differentiated by the gross dendritic microstructure in the casting process. In this way, the development of the present study evidenced superior quality in manufacturing customized dental components (copings) by SLM technique compared to precision casting.

Este trabalho tem por objetivo estudar as propriedades mecânicas e a caracterização microestrutural de espécimes da liga de Co-Cr-Mo obtidos por manufatura aditiva fusão seletiva a laser (do inglês Selective Laser Melting SLM) e por fundição de precisão, visando a confecção de próteses odontológicas. A partir de pós de Co-Cr-Mo atomizados a gás foram realizadas as seguintes etapas: 1) investigação das propriedades físicas, químicas e térmicas dos pós atomizados em diferentes faixas granulométricas (denominadas: D1 < 15 &mu;m, D2 de 20-50 &mu;m e D3 > 75 &mu;m); 2) confecção de espécimes, em dimensões padronizadas, por meio das técnicas de consolidação; 3) caracterização dos consolidados por análise de: citotoxicidade, porosidade, difração de raios X e dilatometria; 4) caracterização mecânica de tração, flexão em três pontos, dureza (macro e micro Vickers) e caracterização microestrutural (microscopia óptica e eletrônica de varredura). De modo geral, os resultados obtidos foram: a granulometria D2 (20-50 &mu;m) é a que melhor se enquadra nas análises de empacotamento para a consolidação por meio de SLM; a biocompatibilidade das amostras obteve resultado positivo para ambas técnicas de processamento; a avaliação mecânica dos espécimes evidencia que a técnica de fusão seletiva a laser propicia propriedades mecânicas (tensão de escoamento, tensão de ruptura, tensão máxima, alongamento e dureza) superiores as obtidas pela técnica de fundição de precisão; a microestrutura obtida pelo processo SLM é composta por grãos ultrafinos e de elevada homogeneidade química. Conclui-se que, o desenvolvimento do presente estudo evidenciou que na fabricação de componentes odontológicos customizados (coroas) a técnica SLM apresenta qualidade superior quando comparada a fundição de precisão. / The objective of this work was to study the mechanical properties and microstructural characterization of specimens of the Co-Cr-Mo alloy obtained by additive manufacturing -selective laser melting (SLM) and precision casting aiming at the manufacture of dental prostheses. The following steps were carried out on Co-Cr-Mo gas-atomized powders: 1) investigation of the physical, chemical and thermal properties of atomized powders in different grain sizes (denominated: D1 <15 &mu;m, D2 20-50 &mu;m and D3 > 75 &mu;m); 2) the consolidation of standard specimens via consolidation techniques; 3) characterization of consolidated by analysis of: cytotoxicity, porosity, X ray diffraction and dilatometry; 4) mechanical characterization of tensile, 3 point bending, hardness (macro and micro Vickers) tests and microstructural characterization (optical and scanning electron microscopy). In general, the results observed were: the grain size D2 (20-50 &mu;m) is the one that best fits in the analysis of packaging, for the consolidation by SLM; the biocompatibility of the samples obtained a positive result for both processing techniques; the mechanical evaluation of the specimens shows that the SLM technique provides superior mechanical properties (yield stress, rupture stress, maximum stress, elongation and hardness), compared to those obtained by the precision casting technique; the microstructure obtained by the SLM process results in an ultrafine grains with high chemical homogeneity, differentiated by the gross dendritic microstructure in the casting process. In this way, the development of the present study evidenced superior quality in manufacturing customized dental components (copings) by SLM technique compared to precision casting.