User manual

Appendix I
ZCast Design Guide - 2
Table of Contents
1
Introduction................................................................................. 4
2 General Safety............................................................................ 5
2.1 Safety Precautions............................................................................................................ 5
2.2 Safety Symbols ................................................................................................................. 5
2.3 Safety Instructions.............................................................................................................6
3 ZCast Advantages .................................................................... 10
3.1 The Material ....................................................................................................................10
3.2 Design Freedom.............................................................................................................. 10
4 Locating a Foundry................................................................... 12
4.1 Foundry Trial Parts.......................................................................................................... 12
5 Designing with ZCast – Mold Design........................................ 13
5.1 Sources of Mold Design Information............................................................................... 13
5.2 Selecting a Design Method ............................................................................................. 14
5.2.1 Direct Pour................................................................................................................... 14
5.2.2 Shell Method................................................................................................................ 14
5.2.3 Combination Method ................................................................................................... 15
5.3 Designing Molds in your CAD System............................................................................ 16
5.3.1 Direct Pour Method...................................................................................................... 16
5.3.2 Shell Method................................................................................................................ 17
5.3.3 Combination Method ................................................................................................... 18
5.4 Printing Your Model......................................................................................................... 18
5.5 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................18
6 Design Techniques with ZCast Patterns................................... 19
6.1 Direct Gating ...................................................................................................................19
6.2 Mold Parts Larger Than Build Volume............................................................................ 19
6.3 Shelling your Mold........................................................................................................... 19
6.4 Stiffening Ribs.................................................................................................................20
6.5 Venting ............................................................................................................................ 20
6.5.1 Venting Cores.............................................................................................................. 21
6.5.2 Venting the Mold.......................................................................................................... 22
6.6 Parting Lines ...................................................................................................................25
6.7 Depowderability – Fixed vs. Removable Cores .............................................................. 26
6.8 Mating Surfaces .............................................................................................................. 26
6.9 Geometry Guidelines ...................................................................................................... 27
6.10 Wall Thickness Guidelines .......................................................................................... 27
6.11 Pouring Sleeves & Risers............................................................................................ 28
6.12 Chills............................................................................................................................ 28
6.13 Printing......................................................................................................................... 28
6.13.1 Machine Settings......................................................................................................... 29
6.14 Degassing and Filtering Metal..................................................................................... 29
7 Mold Preparation ...................................................................... 31
Mold Wash ................................................................................................................................. 31
Bake........................................................................................................................................... 31
Final Depowder.......................................................................................................................... 31