The earliest casting method is investment casting, which dates back to roughly 3500 BC. Precision casting and near net form are two applications. Product demand is increasing in India and around the world. In the investment casting process, the use of simulation and rapid prototyping methods reduces lead time and costs while also increasing quality. However, as complexity increases, the traditional sand casting technique has limits, one of which is the expensive expense of equipment to make moulds and cores.
These limitations can be solved by using a 3D printer, which offers the distinct advantage of geometric freedom. A polycast design is created in the precise shape of the item to be cast in this project. This pattern has been covered with a refractory ceramic material.
The metal is flown through a mould that is linked to the tree. In order to provide a comparison, the accuracy and surface finish of the models and castings were also evaluated. It has a significant impact on part quality (surface finish, dimensional correctness, strength, and longevity), as well as lead time and cost. In terms of remote pattern manufacture, it offers a lot of potential.
UK-based Sylatech specialize in investment casting, waveguide systems and CNC machining. They design and manufacture precision-made custom parts through a range of processes, including lost wax. They produce prototype sample parts for customers for investment casting, but traditional tooling methods are prohibitively expensive.
Customers would typically incur a cost of between 188270.00 to 376540.00 per tool. With 30% of tools needing alterations, some customers would be more than £5,000 deep before receiving their end-use parts.
Enter 3D printing
Now, Sylatech use Ultimaker 3D printers to offer customers a more cost-effective and useful prototyping solution. Their Ultimaker 3 Extended has the build volume to manufacture large parts and the print speed to fabricate those parts in a matter of hours. The process has proven very popular with customers because it enables them to see how their casted parts will really perform.
The Ultimaker 3 Extended prints parts with pinpoint accuracy, so customers can always expect the prototypes to perform in the same way as a casted part, minus the weight difference.
This has brought huge cost savings to projects and sped up the prototyping process considerably. The Sylatech team is now able to 3D print multiple new iterations of a part in days rather than weeks and can produce prototypes to almost any specification. A CAD drawing can be finished and sent to print in one day.
Gordon Gunn, Director of Marketing at Sylatech, states, “With the Ultimaker, we can use a 3D printed model for the creation of sample parts directly in our foundry process, without having to invest in tooling to create wax patterns.” “Through 3D printing we can significantly speed up our sampling process – clients can now get a prototype metal part in just seven days!”
The benefits of 3D printing
The cost and time savings are enormous for Sylatech. They have reduced typical product development costs from £17,100 to £600. That’s a 186.5% saving, which is passed onto customers (most appreciatively). The project development time has been decreased from 4 weeks to 5 days. They are able to take on more work and deliver products faster as a result of this. 3D printing has also reduced the level of tooling modifications required. Traditionally, 30% of tools required alteration due to customer design modifications. Thanks to the accuracy and design flexibility delivered by their Ultimaker, this has been reduced considerably to below 5%. This means customers get their parts faster and experience a smoother manufacturing process. A doubly good combination for
High customer satisfaction.
Perhaps the biggest benefit to the 3D printing process though comes in increased design flexibility. Because 3D printing is an additive manufacturing process and not a subtractive one, you can actually make parts with a greater level of intricacy and detail than you can with wax patterns. Models drawn in CAD are printed true-to-design, and the Ultimaker 3 Extended allows for complex geometries and intricate designs to be made up quickly.
Here’s a finished part:
