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

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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