New Developments That Improve Competitiveness and Open New Market Opportunities Ray Donahue Mercury Marine, Fond du Lac, Wl, USA Lost foam addresses designer needs to a greater extent than any other casting process, Lost foam allows the designer to include "value-added" features to product designs by consolidating several parts into one casting. A Department of Energy sponsored study indicates that lost foam aluminum will capture 29% of the aluminum casting market within five years based on "complexity" and "low manufacturing cost". Several innovations for the lost foam process are being introduced into commercial practice that promises to improve competitiveness and open new markets. These include: - Low Expansion Molding Media that deliver the dimension tolerances of high-pressure die cast products. - New Smaller EPS Polymer Bead and a sealer coat to allow thin wall lightweight castings. - Pressure During Solidification to lower porosity levels and to improve mechanical properties, particularly the ductility and the high cycle fatigue strength. This "isostatic pressure" development for Lost Foam for the copper-free alloys like 356 doubles ductility and increases high cycle fatigue strength by 50%. - Hypereutectic Al-Si Alloy specifically developed for the lost foam casting (B391-0-) can be used with the lost foam process with pressure solidification to make liner-less engine blocks. - Validated Commercial Modeling Code, to actually simulate the "filling" of a lost foam mold. Allows the designer to design the manufacturing process, and pro-actively address quality issues before the tooling is built. |