Unleashing the Power of Casting Simulation for Mega Castings

In manufacturing, precision and efficiency are paramount. One tool that has revolutionized the way we approach casting processes is casting simulation. Gone are the days of trial and error, as this technology allows us to predict, analyze, and optimize every aspect of the casting process with unprecedented accuracy.

Here, Product Marketing Manager Mark Vroljik talks to Loic Calba, casting expert and Product Manager for ESI’s ProCAST casting solution to discuss the key advantages of using casting simulation and explore what insights it can provide.

[LC] When selecting between high-pressure die casting, investment casting, or sand casting, considerations are made based on factors such as complexity of the component, production volume, material properties, and surface finish requirements. High-pressure die casting is preferred for high-volume production of intricate and geometrically complex parts with tight tolerances, typically made from non-ferrous metals like aluminum, zinc, or magnesium. Investment casting, also known as precision casting, is chosen for producing highly detailed and near-net-shape components with excellent surface finish and dimensional accuracy, particularly for low to medium production volumes or when casting materials have high melting points, such as stainless steel, titanium, or superalloys. Sand casting is ideal for producing large and heavy components in low to medium volumes, offering versatility for casting various metals and alloys, including ferrous and non-ferrous materials, while allowing for cost-effective tooling and setup for prototypes or short production runs.

[LC] Mega (also referred to as Giga) castings are large-scale, single-piece castings produced using advanced casting techniques, typically for automotive structural components such as vehicle frames or battery enclosures. These castings are characterized by their massive size and intricate geometries, which are often challenging to manufacture using traditional methods. In the automotive industry, giga castings are increasingly utilized to reduce weight, improve structural integrity, and streamline assembly processes. By consolidating multiple smaller components into a single giga casting, automakers can achieve significant weight savings while enhancing overall vehicle rigidity and crashworthiness. Additionally, mega castings offer benefits such as reduced manufacturing complexity, lower assembly costs, and improved scalability, making them an attractive solution for electric vehicles (EVs) and other advanced automotive applications.

[LC] Producing mega castings poses several challenges compared to standard casted components due to their massive size, intricate geometries, and stringent quality requirements. One major challenge is ensuring uniform solidification and cooling rates throughout the casting to prevent defects such as shrinkage, porosity, and hot spots. Additionally, handling and transporting mega castings present logistical challenges due to their size and weight, requiring specialized equipment and facilities. Maintaining dimensional accuracy and structural integrity over large spans is also crucial, necessitating precise control of casting parameters and post-casting processes.

A third important aspect is that it is absolutely key to predict accurately the required closing force needed to cast the part correctly. As these parts are huge, the presses required to produce them are extreme, and require very high closing forces to withstand the internal pressures during the casting cycles. To accurately predict the minimum required closing force, it is absolutely mandatory to include the casting fluid during filling and solidification, and the possible air entrapment, as this drastically impacts the required local pressures in the die, and could, if not well taken care of during the simulations, result in non-manufacturable parts on the selected machine. As ESI ProCAST is a 2-phase solution, meaning considering air and fluid interactions, this aspect is well covered.

[LC] In principle if the customer is already familiar with high pressure die casting simulations, they should be able to setup a standard filling and solidification simulation without additional training. There are few additional complexities to master though, as the model size and the number of objects is quite huge as well. This requires a clean structure for object naming and ordering, and attention needs to be paid to correctly meshing the components

What normally is the more ‘tricky’ part is the correct modeling to get accurate stresses in the part, as in the end these are the origins of the distortions after demolding and during cooling to room temperature. You can easily imagine that small changes in stress distribution can have a non-negligible influence on the final distortion magnitudes for such large parts. Fortunately, thanks to the finite element foundation of our stress solver, this part is well taken care of and even for these large parts distortions can be predicted within few millimeter tolerances!

But just to ensure that our customers get the right results for these costly parts, we normally guide them closely through this process and during the first trials guide them step-by-step to develop the required expertise, and to gain insights and trust in modeling the process for these complex parts.

We recently hosted a ‘MegaCasting: Engineering the Future of Automotive Manufacturing!’ webinar which provides more insights into megacasting technology. 

To watch the recording  click here