Articles & Research • DFM+ A New Approach to Casting Development
DFM+ A New Approach to Casting Development
2nd July 2024
Written by Ashley Stafford
Technology
DfM is well known as the secret sauce of cost downs and improved margins. It is rarely done well and almost never covers everything it should or could. And in aluminium casting these sins are probably worse than anywhere else.
The seemingly infinite design flexibility of casting gives it, as a manufacturing medium, far more scope to accommodate production nuances than other methodologies. And yet the division between component design, done by OEMs, and casting production, by foundries, frequently means design strategies are not sufficiently joined up to take advantage.
Sarginsons is different. Whilst it proposes involvement at the concept stage, it also operates the most exhaustive scope of work assessment with the precise aim of nailing every aspect of a components manufacture. And no other foundry can offer the huge DfM advantage of Digital Twin Simulations.
Sarginsons technology is world leading but few realise that, in essence, Digital Twin Simulations is DfM. In being able to predict mechanical strength and performance prior to any physical testing or production, Sarginsons is guaranteeing that the casting is fit for purpose. Any refinements can be made well before the first casting is put down
There'll be no surprises, no panicked redesign because Sarginsons makes sure the casting design was fit for purpose well beforehand. This ability to simulate performance allows all the other 'DfM' allowances to be integrated into the casting and tested alongside mechanical performance.
Ironically, it was the ability to use digital twin simulations to assist the DfM process, that highlighted all the other areas where DfM really played a role. It was integrating the heat treatment process into the DfM package that led directly to the concept of Designed Deformation, where a component is designed so that the distortion generated by heat treatment actually forces it into the correct alignment: surely no better example of extreme DfM exists than this.
It's not just about the use of digital twin simulations as there as so many mundane aspects of the casting and finishing process that can be accommodated - from intelligent location of datums, through handling and fixturing but most particularly the particularities of CNC machining, where the programme almost needs writing, before the component is designed.
Sarginsons takes DfM very seriously.
