Design and Manufacture of a Wax Injection Tool for Investment Casting Using Rapid Tooling

A rapid wax injection tool of a gearbox shift fork was designed, simulated, and manufactured using rapid prototyping and rapid tooling technology to save time and cost of producing wax models used for the investment casting process. CAE simulation softwares, in particular, MoldFlow, are used to get wax injection moulding parameters such as filling parameters, temperature profiles, freeze time, speed, and pressure. The results of this research were compared with conventional wax model production methods. The criteria of such comparison were based upon parameters such as time, cost, and other related characteristics, which resulted in saving of 50% in time and 60% in cost. In this research, design, assembly, and wax injection operation of the wax tool took 10 days. Considering the fact that wax melting temperature is as low as 70°C and injection pressure of 0.5 MPa, the tool suffers no damage due to the thermal and pressure stresses, leading to the mass production of wax models.     

含过量Fe和Si的铸态Al–Cu合金的拉伸性能和热裂敏感性

This study was undertaken to investigate the tensile properties and hot tearing susceptibility of cast Al–Cu alloys containing excess Fe (up to 1.5wt%) and Si (up to 2.5wt%). According to the results, the optimum tensile properties and hot tearing resistance were achieved at Fe/Si mass ratio of 1, where the α-Fe phase was the dominant Fe compound. Increasing the Fe/Si mass ratio above unity increased the amounts of detrimental β-CuFe platelets in the microstructure, deteriorating the tensile properties and hot tearing resistance. Decreasing the mass ratio below unity increased the size and fraction of Si needles and micropores in the microstructure, also impairing the tensile properties and hot tearing resistance. The investigation of hot-torn surfaces revealed that the β-CuFe platelets disrupted the tear healing phenomenon by blocking interdendritic feeding channels, while the α-Fe intermetallics improved the hot tearing resistivity due to their compact morphology and high melting point.