Heat Transfer Analysis of 3D Printed Wax Injection Mold Used in Investment Casting
Investment casting is one of the precise casting methods where disposable wax patterns made in wax injection molds are used to make a casting mold. The production capacity of precision foundry is determined by the time taken for producing wax patterns, which depends on the time taken for wax solidif...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Materials |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/19/6545 |
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| author | Bartłomiej Burlaga Arkadiusz Kroma Przemysław Poszwa Robert Kłosowiak Paweł Popielarski Tomasz Stręk |
| author_facet | Bartłomiej Burlaga Arkadiusz Kroma Przemysław Poszwa Robert Kłosowiak Paweł Popielarski Tomasz Stręk |
| author_sort | Bartłomiej Burlaga |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Investment casting is one of the precise casting methods where disposable wax patterns made in wax injection molds are used to make a casting mold. The production capacity of precision foundry is determined by the time taken for producing wax patterns, which depends on the time taken for wax solidification. Wax injection molds are usually made of aluminum or copper alloys with the use of expensive and time-consuming computer numerical control (CNC) processing, which makes low-volume production unprofitable. To reduce these costs, the authors present a heat transfer analysis of a 3D printed wax injection mold. Due to the low thermal conductivity of the photopolymer resin, the influence of different cooling channels’ shapes was investigated to improve the time of the manufacturing process. Transient thermal analysis was performed using COMSOL software based on the finite element method (FEM) and included a simulation of wax injection mold cooling with cold air (−23 °C), water, and without cooling. The analysis showed that use of cooling channels in the case of photopolymer material significantly reduces the solidification time of the sample (about 10 s shorter), and that under certain conditions, it is possible to obtain better cooling than obtained with the aluminum reference wax injection mold (after approximately 25–30 s). This approach allows to reduce the production costs of low-volume castings. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T21:32:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bd034216ae254c87b6d681a764ae668b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1944 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T21:32:45Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Materials |
| spelling | doaj.art-bd034216ae254c87b6d681a764ae668b2023-11-23T20:52:32ZengMDPI AGMaterials1996-19442022-09-011519654510.3390/ma15196545Heat Transfer Analysis of 3D Printed Wax Injection Mold Used in Investment CastingBartłomiej Burlaga0Arkadiusz Kroma1Przemysław Poszwa2Robert Kłosowiak3Paweł Popielarski4Tomasz Stręk5Division of Virtual Engineering, Institute of Applied Mechanics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Poznan University of Technology, 60-965 Poznan, PolandDivision of Foundry and Plastic Working, Institute of Materials Technology, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Poznan University of Technology, 60-965 Poznan, PolandDivision of Foundry and Plastic Working, Institute of Materials Technology, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Poznan University of Technology, 60-965 Poznan, PolandDivision of Aeronautical Engineering, Institute of Thermal Energy, Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Energy, Poznan University of Technology, 60-965 Poznan, PolandDivision of Foundry and Plastic Working, Institute of Materials Technology, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Poznan University of Technology, 60-965 Poznan, PolandDivision of Technical Mechanics, Institute of Applied Mechanics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Poznan University of Technology, 60-965 Poznan, PolandInvestment casting is one of the precise casting methods where disposable wax patterns made in wax injection molds are used to make a casting mold. The production capacity of precision foundry is determined by the time taken for producing wax patterns, which depends on the time taken for wax solidification. Wax injection molds are usually made of aluminum or copper alloys with the use of expensive and time-consuming computer numerical control (CNC) processing, which makes low-volume production unprofitable. To reduce these costs, the authors present a heat transfer analysis of a 3D printed wax injection mold. Due to the low thermal conductivity of the photopolymer resin, the influence of different cooling channels’ shapes was investigated to improve the time of the manufacturing process. Transient thermal analysis was performed using COMSOL software based on the finite element method (FEM) and included a simulation of wax injection mold cooling with cold air (−23 °C), water, and without cooling. The analysis showed that use of cooling channels in the case of photopolymer material significantly reduces the solidification time of the sample (about 10 s shorter), and that under certain conditions, it is possible to obtain better cooling than obtained with the aluminum reference wax injection mold (after approximately 25–30 s). This approach allows to reduce the production costs of low-volume castings.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/19/6545castingwax injection moldsresincoolingfinite element method (FEM)heat transfer |
| spellingShingle | Bartłomiej Burlaga Arkadiusz Kroma Przemysław Poszwa Robert Kłosowiak Paweł Popielarski Tomasz Stręk Heat Transfer Analysis of 3D Printed Wax Injection Mold Used in Investment Casting Materials casting wax injection molds resin cooling finite element method (FEM) heat transfer |
| title | Heat Transfer Analysis of 3D Printed Wax Injection Mold Used in Investment Casting |
| title_full | Heat Transfer Analysis of 3D Printed Wax Injection Mold Used in Investment Casting |
| title_fullStr | Heat Transfer Analysis of 3D Printed Wax Injection Mold Used in Investment Casting |
| title_full_unstemmed | Heat Transfer Analysis of 3D Printed Wax Injection Mold Used in Investment Casting |
| title_short | Heat Transfer Analysis of 3D Printed Wax Injection Mold Used in Investment Casting |
| title_sort | heat transfer analysis of 3d printed wax injection mold used in investment casting |
| topic | casting wax injection molds resin cooling finite element method (FEM) heat transfer |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/19/6545 |
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