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Technical Writing Assignment - Casting vs Forging

Griffin Beemiller
9/29/10
Professor London
Mate 360





























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ntroduction
For the production oI a light measurement system, a base is needed in order to grip and
hold the lens in place. The light then travels Irom the light source, through the lens, to the
spectrometer. This report will supply inIormation on the material to use Ior the lens holder, and
the process used to make it. The base must be compact and must also be cheap to obtain and
manuIacture. The shape oI the base is most important; the lens must be stable sitting in the base
and must be sturdy and cannot wobble. Based on this inIormation, a metal is an immediate
candidate because oI their low cost and versatility, speciIically Al356 due to availability. There
are many diIIerent ways to shape and manuIacture metal that must be considered when creating
the base. The Iollowing sections will compare and contrast Iorging metal versus casting metal in
order to determine the best shaping process Ior our particular application.

Forging
Forging involves plastically deIorming the metal in order to achieve the desired shape.
This process can be done at high temperatures, called hot Iorging, in order to recrystallize some
oI the worked metal, or at room temperature called cold Iorging
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. The plastic deIormation
produces an increased number oI dislocations in the microstructure oI the metal. These
dislocations increase the internal stress oI the metal and impede atomic movement resulting in
high strength metals. The results oI Iorging are materials with particularly superior mechanical
properties because the deIormation reIines the structure oI the metal and reduces porosity
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.
Forged metals are critical to high mechanical perIormance applications such as aircraIt
components, crankshaIts and machine tools
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, but Ior our given application, these high
perIormance properties are not necessary.
Compared to casting, Iorging can oIIer a great strength to weight ratio,
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but the tools
involved tend to be comparatively much more expensive with Iorging. Forging demands costly
tools that require enormous pressure to compact the metal (Figure 1). The process oI Iorging can
oIten be multiple steps in order to achieve one complex shape. When compared to casting,
Iorging can have a considerably higher number oI steps (Table 1). These numerous steps and the
machinery costs that the steps require, are major disadvantages when considering Iorging.
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Figure 1: The diagram above shows a Iorging process using a machine consisting oI a ram, anvil and a die.
When pressed together at high pressures the metal inside takes the Iorm oI the upper and lower die.
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Table I: Steps oI processing

Table I: The table above shows a step by step comparison oI casting and Iorging. Both processes work to
produce a 10 inch valve. Note the many labor intensive steps required by the Iorging as opposed to casting.
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UnIortunately Iorging does not oIIer a good enough tolerance
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when considering the end
shape oI a compact product like the one in our application. Shape is extremely important to our
lens holder and the tolerance must be precise in order to insure proper stabilization oI the lens.
Due to concerns with shaping tolerances, cost and time consumption, casting was the chosen
process to make the base oI the lens holder in our light measurement system.
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Casting
In comparison with Iorging where solid metal is Iorced into the die cavity, casting
involves liquid metal being poured into the mold cavity oI a desired shape. Since liquids can
Ilow just about anywhere, the complexity oI shape is able to greatly increase. With casting we
have the Ireedom to make our lens holder detailed with little diIIiculty. Castings can
accommodate great complexity oI shape and with great detail
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and is thereIore ideal Ior our
application. There a Iew diIIerent types oI casting, one oI which can be viewed below in
Figure 2. Investment casting speciIically oIIers excellent production oI detail in small
components
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.



Figure 2: The diagram above is an example oI die casting. The molten metal is pushed by the plunger through the
goose neck and nozzle and into the cavity with the desired shape Ior the end product.
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Castings produces a seamless, one-piece component that oIIers uniIorm strength and
toughness. A disadvantage oI casting is that it can contain pores, but this can be avoided with
low pressure die casting techniques
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. Casting will produce a very dense metal that should oIIer
good stability as a base Ior the lens holder. Comparisons oI casting to Iorging can be seen in
Table II.


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Table II: Comparing investment casting and Iorging

Investment cast|ng Iorg|ng
osslble shapes nonclrcular prlsmaLlc nonclrcular prlsmaLlc

Solld 3u Solld 3u

Clrcular prlsmaLlc


Pallow 3u

CaplLal cosL $328 $1640 $328000 $820000
MaLerlal uLlllzaLlon fracLlon 8 83 83 93
roducLlon raLe 1 200 unlLs/hr 100 300 unlLs/hr
roLoLyplng ass lall
1oollng cosLs Low Plgh
LqulpmenL cosLs Medlum Plgh
Labor lnLenslLy Plgh Low
Table II: The table above shows the comparison oI investment casting and Iorging in many diIIerent aspects.
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Casting will work Ior prototyping as well as down the road in production since it can be
done in both small and large batch sizes. With small batch sizes the process is manual and very
labor intensive with low capital and tooling costs. When this batch size is increased the process
becomes automated with great production speeds and good quality control, but higher capital
costs
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. An advantage oI casting is that with larger batch sizes, the same mold will create an
exact replica oI the part over and over again. Despite the costs and disadvantages oI casting, it is
the appropriate method Ior shaping our metallic base into the detailed lens holder in the light
measurement system.

#eferences
1. CasLlngs or lorglngs? 5teel loooJets 5oclety of Ametlco Apr 2000 Web 01 CcL
2010 hLLp//wwwsfsaorg/sfsa/pubs/cvf/ecsphp
2. CasLlng vs lorglng slqtoopcom Calcom Web 30 SepL 2010 hLLp//wwwesl
groupcom/producLs/casLlng/LLlps/eLlps/e1lp16pdf
3. CES EduPack 2010
4. ule CasLlng rocess PoL and Cold Chamber ,ecboolcol oqloeet 5toJeots kesootce
5lte Web 01 CcL 2010 hLLp//wwwenglneersLudenLcouk/dle_casLlnghLml
5. Jn1llJesley ltJ lotqloqs 5tomploqs ltessloqs 5moll 8otcb 5peclollsts Web 01 CcL
2010 hLLp//wwwwhLlldesleycom/pageasp?lu3