Delores Selections » Casting

Casting

lesa — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 00:14:36 +0000

This teaching and learning package (TLP) introduces a number of important processes through which metallic items can be fabricated from molten metal. As well as detailing the practical aspects of these manufacturing processes, attention is given to the important parameters which determine the microstructure of the finished items.

Before you start it will be helpful to have an understanding of solute partitioning and the formation of dendrites. The TLP on Solidification of Alloys covers these topics.

On completion of this tutorial you should:
• Understand the meaning of the Biot number, how it affects the temperature profile in a casting, and the resulting microstructure.
• Be able to explain the formation of the microstructure observed in a cast ingot.

• Be familiar with some common methods of casting, their advantages and disadvantages, and be able to choose a suitable process for manufacturing a variety of metallic components.

Questions and links to further reading and websites are also included.

Description and screenshot taken from the DoITPoMS page for this TLP. (c) University of Cambridge used under the terms of their CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.]

Design and manufacturing II

lesa — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 05:06:04 +0000

This MIT OpenCourseWare offers selected lecture notes, assignments (with solutions), exams (without solutions), and lab notes taken from the Design and Manufacturing II undergraduate course given as part of MIT’s Mechanical Engineering programme in the spring of 2004.

This course introduces you to modern manufacturing with four areas of emphasis: manufacturing processes, equipment/control, systems, and design for manufacturing. The course exposes you to integration of engineering and management disciplines for determining manufacturing rate, cost, quality and flexibility. Topics include process physics, equipment design and automation/control, quality, design for manufacturing, industrial management, and systems design and operation.

Class objectives are: internalize the attributes along which the success or failure of a manufacturing process, machine, or system will be measured: quality, cost, rate and flexibility; provide exposure to a range of current industrial processes and practices used to manufacture products in high and low volumes; apply physics to understand the factors that control the rate of production and influence the quality, cost and flexibility of processes; understand the impact of manufacturing constraints on product design and process planning; apply an understanding of variation to the factors that control the production rate and influence the quality, cost and flexibility of processes and systems; understand the role of control in processes and systems, especially in view of the presence of noise (variation); and provide exposure to a range of manufacturing system constraints.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

Fundamentals of die casting design

philb — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 15:14:58 +0000

This free textbook, while incomplete, provides a scientific background for many of the physical processes involved in die casting. The topics covered include basic fluid mechanics, dimensional analysis and fundamental of pipe flow. The aspects of die casting analysed include stages in the die casting process, plunger velocity, venting, how to minimize the scrap cost due to the runner system, and what size of die casting machine is appropriate for a specific project.

The book is over 200 pages long, although some of the later sections are incomplete or draft, and is available as a PDF, postscript or LaTeX file.

Modern blacksmithing and physical metallurgy

philb — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 13:35:58 +0000

This MIT OpenCourseWare includes image galleries from the Modern blacksmithing and physical metallurgy course given as part of MIT’s Materials Science and Engineering programme in Autumn 2008.

Physical metallurgy encompasses the relationships between the composition, structure, processing history and properties of metallic materials. The seminar from which these images are taken seminar introduces metallurgy in a particularly “physical” way. The students do blacksmithing, metal casting, machining, and welding, using both traditional and modern methods. The seminar meets once per week for an evening laboratory session, and once per week for discussion of issues in materials science and engineering that tie in to the laboratory work. Students begin by completing some specified projects and progress to designing and fabricating one forged and one cast piece.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]