Optimizing cycle time and/or casting quality in the making of cast metal products

摘要

A method of optimizing cycle time and/or casting quality in the making of a cast metal product which has been defined by a CAD product model. The method involves the steps of (a) providing a computer casting model using objective functions that simulate the filling and solidification of the CAD product model within dies, the casting model being subdivided into contiguous regions with each region having terms in at least one of the objective functions for thermal conductivity, heat capacity and cooling time period, (b) populating the objective function terms with experimental data to calibrate the casting model, derive matching heat 1s transfer coefficients for each region, and simulate filling and solidification of the product within the dies, and (c) constraining the objective functions to ensure directional solidification along the series of contiguous sections while optimizing thermal conductivity and heat capacity and iteratively evaluating the constrained objective functions to indicate at least certain regions of the casting model whereby chills and cooling channels may be added, or insulation added to effect improved cycle time and/or casting quality.