There is an increasing interest in additive manufacturing and 3D printing and the application to foundry tooling. Typical additive manufacturing methods applied to foundry patterns have been limited to the size of build volumes of the printers. With larger printers now available, new opportunities for larger additively manufactured components are available. Patterns for large no-bake patterns have traditionally used wood as a material for making cavity impressions. This has posed challenges to producing consistent castings, as wood will swell and shrink under different levels of temperature and humidity, leading to a phenomenon of dimensional seasonality. As polymers are typically more resistant to these effects; they have been used by patternmakers for some time, however urethanes have been typically limited to small and medium sized work. There are challenges to using non-traditional materials for large no-bake pattern impressions, but thee are able to be overcome with careful planning and implementation.
Presenter Andy Pike is currently a casting simulation engineer at Mueller Company in Chattanooga TN, working on products and processes to help make quality castings for the water works industry. Prior to that he worked for ASK Chemicals in their Casting Design Services department, working to improve castings and prototyping with production intent.
He has conducted and published research on several topics such as simulation, tooling design, and sand testing. Andy currently serves the AFS by sitting on the Mold Metal Interface Reactions committee, and cookie and donut subcommittee. He’s also a graduate of Western Michigan University with Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering, and is a Professional Engineer licensed in Ohio.
Presenter Joel Busler is a tooling engineer at Mueller Company in Chattanooga TN, helping to develop tooling and patterns supporting the water works industry with high quality castings. Over the years, he’s worked for Lee Brass, Allen Architectural Metals, as well as running his own pattern shop. He is a Journeyman Pattern maker, with over 35 years of experience in the industry, and has worked with both hand hewn patterns as well as advanced CAD/CAM technologies and 3D printing.
This AFS Members Only Webinar will begin at 1 p.m. CT.