A few years ago we had a customer who had never worked with aluminum castings but didn't like the "dig out" (the process of cutting out the center of the original bar) required to make his parts. He figured it might cost him extra money and at least cause logistical headaches. The part was already complex, requiring extensive welding, riveting and assembly, coordination and additional lead time. His engineers convinced him to switch to aluminum castings, and to make a long story short, we helped him redesign the part to save about 70% in cost while reducing lead time by about 50%. It's the perfect storm when casting makes more sense than machining.
So, the question is, how to choose casting and machining? Identifying complex parts or parts that waste raw material is an easy way to identify good candidates for conversion
first step. Complex parts have two or more welded, riveted, fastened and/or assembled parts, some common examples are weldments and prefabricated panels. A waste part usually has an over-machined part, or is machined from a larger billet of "wasted" raw material, in the example above a hollow part.
There are other parts that offer conversion opportunities, including parts that require better appearance (one-piece vs. multi-piece designs), customization ("embossing" company logos on parts), better mechanical parts ( spots from weak riveting, fabrication, etc.).
The next step in the process is to redesign the part to ensure that all critical elements (strength, hardness, lead time, finish, tolerances, cost, etc.) are met. We are happy to help guide this process with a customer's design engineer, or utilize an outside company to ensure the part meets the necessary requirements.
Once these projects are known, 3D printing can often be used to produce prototype castings in just a few days. These prototypes were "95 percent accurate," with some minor imperfections in surface finish and quality, but generally allowed for part testing to be completed.
With designs or prototype castings complete, production tooling and process designs are referenced, and parts can go into production within weeks.
