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National Center for Manufacturing Sciences
The adoption of Digital Manufacturing means lower costs, faster time to market, dramatically improved quality, and increased capacity for Michigan’s manufacturers. NCMS wanted to provide hands-on access of Digital Manufacturing tools and training to small and medium-sized manufacturers
(SMMs) through several pilot projects. The goal was to connect software and hardware providers with manufacturers
to work together to solve a challenge. The end result is a diverse set of case studies, focused on modeling and simulation (M&S) and data analytics- each project distinct in software, scope and outcome. The Michigan Grid Cell™ will take this a step further in creating a safe place for further collaboration between SMMs and other partners.
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NCMS Industry Intelligence

Background ....................................................
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Objectives ......................................................
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Cold shut and effectiveness of the vents on part -289 ...........................................
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Comparison filling and solidification of part -288 and -289 ......................................
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EpoRT is based on a collaborative partnership between Altair, Centracore, Novacast and the National Center for
Manufacturing Sciences this report contains details of project related information. The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of NCMS or any other institution, nor endorsements by NCMS or any other institution of any product, process, apparatus, or method. NCMS makes no warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the information contained herein.
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National Center for Manufacturing Sciences
PART -288
Although one goal of the case studies is to show how Modeling and Simulation (M&S) can benefit a small to medium-sized manufacturer (SMM), another goal is to show a direct advantage to their business model and Centracore’s first case study did just that. Centracore was having a quality problem with a part that they manufacture for a customer. The customer was becoming increasingly unhappy and Centracore couldn’t determine the problem with the software that they currently had. The iron was filling into empty spaces and would not fuse and mix. It would stop at the seam and harden, leaving a weak crack in the part. Centracore needed to analyze the fill and solidification of the parts, with and without a vent to determine if the foundry’s pouring parameters yield an acceptable part in the analysis. Altair and their partner, Novacast, an innovator in foundry technology, were able to apply their casting M&S software to Centracore’s problem and collaboratively find a solution. At the end of the project, both Centracore and their customer were briefed on the findings and Centracore was able to keep their customer’s business.
NCMS Industry Intelligence

PART -289
Centracore LLC designs and manufactures machined prototype and production castings and forgings in aluminum, iron and steel. It is located in St. Clair, Michigan and supplies to a variety of industries including:
Diesel Engine, Truck, Automotive, Marine, Energy, and general Industrial Markets.
Altair Engineering, Inc. is a global software and technology company focused on simulation and analytics, product development and advanced computing. Headquarter in Troy Michigan, Altair is a member of
NCMS and inaugural supporter of the Grid Initiative.
NovaCast Systems, a partner of Altair Engineering, is a global company with over 500 customers in more than 40 countries in businesses related to the automotive industry, the wind farm power industry, marine applications, food and transportation sectors, architecture and interior design, offshore, prototyping and many others.
Find the effectiveness of vents on part -289 and cold shut as well as the comparison of filling and solidification between part -288 and -289. Some data used in the simulation are standard data and some deviations compared to reality can occur regarding composition min-max values, melt quality and measured temperatures. No shrinkage calibration has been done at the actual foundries.
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National Center for Manufacturing Sciences
Figure 1 The liquid phase
The problem that occurred on part -289 was a cold shut and when first simulated, there weren’t any tendencies towards cold shut with or without vents. With additional testing and further simulations, it was clear that the cold shut will only appear under certain conditions.
Figure 1 & 2 shows the comparison between the part with and without vents and also both with lower pouring temperature, combined with higher liquidus point as a result of changed composition.
Upper left and right pictures are with pouring temperature 1400°C(2552°F) and standard composition. Lower left and right pictures are with pouring temperature 1350°C(2462°F) and higher liquidus point.
The grey areas have started to solidify and red shows loss of liquidity. It is clear that with correct composition and pouring temperature the risk for cold shuts is lower.
It is clear that with the correct composition and pouring temperature the risk for cold shuts is very low. As shown in the pictures, the cold shuts will only appear under certain circumstances with
NCMS Industry Intelligence

Figure 2
Figure 3 With Vents this gating design. If the melt quality varies up and down, it will affect the cold shuts but will also affect shrinkage behaviour. It is crucial to have full control of the process.
Novacast used the Metallurgical process control system called ATAS, which is designed to control the process and quality.
The vents are found to be redundant and it seems that they increase the problem rather than adding value. They also create new issues as increased risk for shrinkages at the same problem area. Pictures below show shrinkage risk areas in red, these might not show up in the casting, but there is a risk that they might.
Figure 4 Without Vents
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National Center for Manufacturing Sciences
In this comparison, provided data are used and part-289 is used without vents, after the conclusion that they are of no use.
Filling Velocity part -288:
NCMS Industry Intelligence

Shrinkage prediction:
The pictures show the casting as x-ray from 3 sides with all possible risk areas. The higher the intensity of red colour, the higher the risk will be. Transparent 3-d picture shows the most likely outcome with a good melt quality.
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National Center for Manufacturing Sciences
The part -289 has a shorter filling time with higher filling speeds than the -288 and only one ingate. This is a downside as the metal will become colder at the far end compared with three ingates in the -288, which has additional filling. During solidification, we can see that the directional solidification is better in the -288, mostly depending on the extra feeder compared to -289. The shrinkage prediction shows, under normal circumstances, both parts will not show any shrinkage, however the risk is much higher in -289. It is also clear that the risk areas are almost identical because of the geometry.
The findings conclude that the yield is better in -289 with a total casting weight of 46kg compared to 57kg.
Also the -288 uses 4 isolating sleeves and -289 uses only one isolating and 2 exothermic sleeves. With the report, Centracore was able to share the results with their customer and make informed decisions on how to move forward with the parts.
NCMS Industry Intelligence

© 2014 National Center for Manufacturing Sciences, Inc.
This report is the property of the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS). It is delivered under Michigan Economic Devel opment Corp. (MEDC) Grant DOC 4887.
Neither NCMS, members of NCMS, nor any person acting on behalf of them:
• makes any warranty or representation, express or implied, with respect to the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of the information contained in this report, or that the use of any information, apparatus, method, or process disclosed in this report may not infringe privately owned rights, or
• assumes any liability with respect to the use of, or from damages resulting from the use of, any information, apparatus, method, or process disclosed in this report.
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