Swerea SWECAST AB succeeds in developing thin-walled steel castings using ProCAST


During this project we used ProCAST software and that gave us the possibility to simulate & optimize thin-walled steel castings. ProCAST is a very competent software, when it comes to simulate thinwalled geometries
Challenge
In most cases, thin-wall castings involve unnecessary waste and problems with meeting dimension tolerances. As know- how in thin-wall castings is limited, designers frequently incorporate safety coefficients on thicknesses that are needlessly large and drive away from the concept of developing lighter designs.
Can thin-wall castings be manufactured?
Story
The “Production of thin-wall castings for lighter designs” was funded by the Swedish government. Its goal: create conditions to design and produce steel and aluminum thin-walled castings, and identify how simulations can be used to facilitate the production of thin-walled castings. The simulation software was first used to compare results of some trial runs, on prototype castings, and study how process parameters affect the filling process. This experience was later used on real casting parts.

Benefits
- The component wall thickness was re- duced from 6mm to 3.5mm
- Casting weight was reduced significantly.
- 30% reduction in the total production cost