Design for manufacturability, or DFM, can be applied in many different ways. Every manufacturing process, from forging to casting and CNC machining, has its own set up DFM best practices. In metalcasting, engineers apply DFM in order to ensure that the product will not only function and look as desired, but also that it is optimized to be manufactured through metalcasting.
DFM Best Practices in Metalcasting
As an investment casting facility, Eagle Precision sees a number of similar design issues that present challenges to the manufacturing process. These often include eliminating sharp corners, reducing or eliminating machine stock, and adding other cast features. The motivation behind making these changes is to reduce the cost of investment casting tooling, reduce or eliminate machining operations, or add value to the casting by including additional features.
At Eagle Alloy, which specializes in shell mold casting, cores can make a huge difference for DFM. By adding cores in strategic places, along with casting offset parting features, Eagle Alloy can often eliminate costly machining operations. A large portion of DFM responsibilities are also shouldered by Eagle Alloy's metallurgists. Because steel offers so many options for alloying agents, metallurgy specialists can work with customers to choose the most cost effective alloy with the desired mechanical properties.
Since shell mold casting has unique advantages like tighter tolerances at a higher production rate compared to typical sand-casting processes. Eagle Alloy, and other shell mold casting facilities, can cast tighter flatness profiles. They can also reduce the need for machine stock and avoid added machining cycles where machining is necessary. Shell mold casting also allows for reduced draft on vertical features due to metal tooling and ejection systems. Geometry can be relatively complex, and thinner section walls can be cast.