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An Example in Steel Casting    The Ice Cleat on the M1 Abrams Tank

Draft Angles, Radii and Fillets

Design Criteria for Draft Angle, Radii, and Fillets

The ice cleat  design is then reviewed to determine if --

  • Vertical surfaces have the proper draft angle so the mold can be drawn from the pattern. A draft angle of 1° is common.
  • Sharp radii and fillets are smoothed and rounded to avoid turbulent metal flow and to avoid hot tearing, poor fill, and stress concentrations.

Three cross sections of the ice cleat are shown below illustrating the vertical draft angle and the radii and fillets on the original design.

X-secBaseX.gif (24166 bytes)
X-sec1.gif (4457 bytes)
Center Cut
X-sec2.gif (5134 bytes)
Forward Cut
X-sec3.gif (4998 bytes)
Long Cut

Since the ice cleat was originally designed as a forging, where mold release, metal flow,
and stress concentrations  are also important design issues, the draft angles, radii, and
fillets are more than sufficient for good castability.

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SFSA Last Modified:December, 1998 by STG
Copyright 1995 - '98 by Steel Founders' Society Of America.
All rights reserved. Address Comments to:monroe@sfsa.org
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