Realisation of Lightweight Machine Tool Components by Modern Foundry Technology

摘要

Several Machine tool components are east metals made in foundries. They are generally of grey cast iron with some alloying, and in some cases Spheroidal Graphitic iron. Historically, machine tools like any other machine might have been fabricated in steel with a number of cross-ribs for stiffness, and eventually the foundries were asked to duplicate the prototype in Iron. Now, in order to optimise the weight of components, it is important to re-evaluate the design inputs in terms of the various static and dynamic loads, and simultaneously work with foundries and review the characteristics of cast metals in terms of their strength, yield, ductility, hardness, wear resistance, fatigue properties, castability, reliability of foundry process etc. The paper reviews a range of metals including metal foams and recommends a structured concurrent engineering process between foundryman and designer to realise lightweight cast components.