The Casting
Design Issues
The Casting Design
Approach -- The casting design engineers at Eck
Industries of Manitowoc, WI were given the challenge of producing the brake pedal as an
aluminum casting, meeting stringent quality, cost, and delivery targets from GM.
The metalcasting engineers had three design imperatives --
Design for
Performance
Design for Manufacturability/Castability
Design for Cost
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Critical Design Issues --The requirements for performance, manufacturability/ castability, and
cost are closely interconnected. Five design issues played a major role in meeting the
three design imperatives
Select a casting/molding
method for surface finish, dimensional tolerances,
productivity, and tool life.
Choose an aluminum alloy
with the best balance of strength,
ductility, and castability.
Review the component design to
eliminate hot spots and stress concentrations in the casting.
Engineer the metal flow into the
casting to promote soundness and high production yield.
Develop quality assurance
methods to verify soundness.
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