Cast Component: Cross car beam.
Material: Magnesium.
Process: Diecasting.
Casting Supplier: Meridian Technologies UK, Nottinghamshire, England.
•The cross car beam offered a lightweight, effective and improved
performance for the Land Rover Discovery T5.
•The single-piece magnesium diecasting replaced steel fabrications that were welded together. Bolting directly to the car body,
the cross car beam carries all of the dashboard equipment and
weighs 11 lbs. (5 kg).
•The casting supplier used a CAD-driven design approach to
ensure all the structural requirements were incorporated in the
early design.
ast Component: Brake pedal system for school buses.
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Material: Nickel-aluminum bronze.
Casting Process: Chilled permanent mold.
Casting Supplier: Piad Precision Casting Corp., Greensburg, Pa.
•The brake pedal system is part of an operator pedal system that
adjusts to the school bus driver. The brake system is comprised
of the lower brake pedal, which is 10 in. (25.4 cm) long, 4 in.
(10.16 cm) wide, 3 in. (7.62 cm) high and weighs 1.8 lbs. (0.82
kg), and the upper brake pedal, which is 6 in. (15.24 cm) wide,
4 in. (10.16 cm) deep, 3 in. (7.62 cm) tall, and weighs 3.13 lb.
(1.42 kg).
•The nickel-aluminum bronze alloy was chosen for its excellent
corrosion resistance with high values of hardness and elastic
modulus.
•The upper brake pedal features a cast-in steel tube for the pivot
arm. The use of the cast-in tube produced a finished casting with
reduced assembly costs and strong mechanical linkage between
the casting and the tube.
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Engineered Casting Solutions
Cast Component: Inlet manifold.
Material: A356 Aluminum with T6 heat treatment.
Casting Process: Diecasting.
Casting Supplier: Lynrus Aluminum Products,
Salt Lake City.
•This inlet manifold is one of seven castings in an aftermarket
BMW supercharger and was produced with the aid of casting
process modeling, which helped redesign 13 prototype parts
into seven castings.
•The manifold is 22.05 in. (56 cm) long with six runners. Casting
process modeling software was used to evaluate mold design by
viewing flow patterns and solidification progression.
•The seven-casting supercharger gained an additional 17 hp over
the prototype and fit into the same space the original manifold
occupied.
November/December 2005
ast Component: Caster for consumer riding mower.
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Material: Ductile Iron.
Process: Green sand molding.
Casting Supplier: Bremen Castings Inc., Bremen, Ind.
•These left and right hand casters support the mower deck,
foot rest and tractor. They are the first line of defense against
stationary objects.
•Lower volume models use fabricated steel components. This
one piece design provides added rigidity, extended product life,
attractive styling along with cost and weight reduction. Cast Component: Housing for a thermoelectric fan.
Material: Aluminum.
Process: Vacuum-assisted diecasting.
Casting Supplier: Kennedy Die Casting, Worcester, Mass.
•The fan housing, measuring 14 in. (35.56 cm) in diameter and
10 in. (25.4 cm) tall, weighs 7.5 lbs. (3.4 kg). It is used to house
fans made to aid in the heating of uninsulated spaces, such as
tents or sheds.
•A proprietary aluminum alloy was used to achieve high thermal
conductivity (130 W/mK), which was a key performance factor.
•The casting process offered minimal machining costs and reduced weight with mechanical durability.
November/December 2005
ast Component: Transfer case.
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Material: AZ91E Magnesium with T6 heat treatment.
Process: Sand cast.
Casting Supplier: Yankee Casting Co., Enfield, Conn.
•This transfer case for an SUV measures 12 in. (30.5 cm) and
weighs just 6 lbs. (2.7 kg).
•The component’s light weight due to the use of magnesium
helped improve the fuel economy of the vehicle. The use of T6
heat treatment afforded the casting high purity and excellent
corrosion resistance.
For Design Engineers & Purchasers
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