Sources of casting modeling software: solidification modeling is providing unprecedented benefits to foundries and OEM designers. Here's an updated survey of available packages.Over the past 15 years or so, the technical use of computers in foundries has steadily increased. The first AFS A distributed file system for large, widely dispersed Unix and Windows networks from Transarc Corporation, now part of IBM. It is noted for its ease of administration and expandability and stems from Carnegie-Mellon's Andrew File System. AFS - Andrew File System CompuCast Conference was held in 1983, and introduced foundries to the different types of emerging software. As the benefits of these packages became known, more foundries began investing in this technology. As both personal computer (PC) and workstation computers grew in power and fell in price, one type of software moved to the forefront of technical development - process modeling. This type of modeling simulates from the beginning of the pour through shakeout, although some packages may offer additional processes such as heat treatment. Essentially, such modeling is a tool for foundrymen to determine whether a quality casting will be produced. Since the introduction of this technology in the mid-1980s, the accuracy, speed and usefulness of these packages have improved dramatically. Today, this technology is being further embraced by the metalcasting industry simply because of the tremendous benefits that come from making a part right - the first time. In a project conducted by the American Metalcasting Consortium (modern casting, September 1996), users were surveyed about the costs and benefits of using process modeling software. Across the board, they reported a 40%-plus reduction in lead and production times, 30% reduction in labor and rework costs and a 25% improvement in yield. Another article written by Sivyer Steel in that issue shared how the foundry saved an estimated $530,000 over three years in reduction of scrap and rework and manufacturing costs. Many published sources quantify the savings derived from process modeling. Three years ago, modern casting (July 1994) published an article on evaluating process modeling software. Because software is in continuous change, the AFS Process Modeling and Design Committee (1-F) prepared the following updated list of process modeling software from the responses to a recent committee survey. The format was designed to concisely state the major features and capabilities of each package. Contact information is provided for each package to assist foundries seeking additional information. The 1-F Committee has spent considerable time introducing the benefits of process modeling to the casting design community as well as to foundries. If more parts that are ultimately made by the casting process were designed with metalcasting in mind, overall part quality could be improved dramatically, and manufacturing costs would decrease. Process modeling then becomes a valuable communication tool between the foundry and the original equipment manufacturer (OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) The rebranding of equipment and selling it. The term initially referred to the company that made the products (the "original" manufacturer), but eventually became widely used to refer to the organization that buys the products and ). As we strive to attain just-in-time deliveries and simultaneous engineering, process modeling becomes an indispensable tool. AFS Solidification System (3D) American Foundrymen's Society 505 State Street Des Plaines, Illinois “Des Plaines” redirects here. For the river, see Des Plaines River. Des Plaines (pronounced IPA [dɛsˈpleɪnz]) is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. 60016-8399 847/824-0181, fax 847/824-7848, http://www.afsinc.org Contact: Customer Service. Background: The 3D system is a PC-based package that combines speed, accuracy, ease of use and low cost. Calculations are performed using the finite difference method In mathematics, more precisely in numerical analysis, finite differences play an important role, they are one of the simplest ways of approximating a differential operator, and are extensively used in solving differential equations. and combine both a thermal and volumetric volumetric /vol·u·met·ric/ (vol?u-met´rik) pertaining to or accompanied by measurement in volumes. vol·u·met·ric adj. Of or relating to measurement by volume. approach to predicting casting problems. Software Features: model building, mold filling, solidification and CAD interfaces. Process Applications: sand, shell, investment and permanent mold processes in all metals. Computer Platforms: PCs. Cost: $12,500 AFS Corporate Members; $15,000 AFS Personal Members; $25,000 list price. Number of Installations: 270+ companies. CAM-CAST/SIMULOR Engineering Systems International Corp. 570 Kixts, Suite 231 Troy, Michigan Troy is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a suburb of Detroit. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 80,959, the 12th largest city in Michigan by population. 48084 248/362-4466, fax 248/362-2574 Contact: Ramesh Josui. Background: Classic Navier-Stokes equations The Navier-Stokes equations, named after Claude-Louis Navier and George Gabriel Stokes, describe the motion of fluid substances such as liquids and gases. These equations establish that changes in momentum in infinitesimal volumes of fluid are simply the sum of dissipative viscous coupled with heat equations are solved. Software Features: model building, mold filling, solidification, microstructure mi·cro·struc·ture n. The structure of an organism or object as revealed through microscopic examination. microstructure Noun a structure on a microscopic scale, such as that of a metal or a cell and residual stress Residual stresses are stresses that remain after the original cause of the stresses (external forces, heat gradient) has been removed. They remain along a cross section of the component, even without the external cause. . Process Applications: gravity sand/permanent mold casting and investment casting; aluminum, steel and cast iron. Computer Platforms: Unix Workstations. Cost: $35,000. Number of Installations: [greater than]50. CAP EKK EKK Eberswalder Karneval Klub (German: Eberswalder Carnival Club) , Inc. 2065 W. Maple Suite C309 Walled Lake, Michigan Walled Lake is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 6,713 at the 2000 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.4 km² (2.5 mi²). 5.9 km² (2.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.5 km² (0. 48390 248/624-9957, fax 248/624-7158, ekk@mail.ic.net Contact: Calvin Mitcham. Background: 3-D finite element analysis Finite element analysis (FEA) is a computer simulation technique used in engineering analysis. It uses a numerical technique called the finite element method (FEM). There are many finite element software packages, both free and proprietary. software. Software Features: model building, mold filling, solidification, microstructure, residual stress, CAD interfaces and mold distortion. Process Applications: all sand, permanent mold and investment processes. Computer Platforms: MS DOS, Windows 3.x, 95, NT, Unix. Cost: $45,000/year. Number of Installations: 55. CASTCAE CT-CASTech Inc. Oy (CASTech Inc.) Tekniikantie 21 B, P.O. Box 524 FIN-02150 Espoo, Finland +358-9-437-5353, +358-50-2448, fax +358-9-437-5354; Arno.Louvo@castech.fi, http://www.castech.fi Contact: Arno Louvo. Background: Early development and verification of the code (in cooperation with the Finnish foundry industry) was done at VTT VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland VTT Valtion Teknillinen Tutkimuskeskus (Finnish: Technical Research Centre of Finland) VTT Vélo Tout Terrain (French: mountain bike; aka ATB or MTB) (Technical research Centre of Finland) and then continued by CASTech since 1994. CastCAE is an advanced 3-D mold filling and solidification simulation package based on CVM and FDM (1) (Fused Deposition Modeling) See 3D printing. (2) (Frequency Division Multiplexing) Transmitting multiple data signals simultaneously over a single wire by using multiple carriers, each having a unique center frequency. . Software Features: model building, mold filling, solidification, microstructure and CAD interfaces. Process Applications: sand casting, diecasting, investment casting, Replicast, shell process and vacuum processes for all metal alloys. Computer Platforms: Windows NT, Windows 95, MacOS 8 and most Unix systems. Cost: $9000-$40,000. Lease $300- $1500/month. Number of Installations: 30 CASTVIEW Jordan, Apostal Ritter rit·ter n. pl. ritter A knight. [German, from Middle High German riter, from Middle Dutch ridder, from r Assoc., Inc. 35 Belver Avenue North Kingstown, Rhode Island North Kingstown is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 26,326 at the 2000 census. The famous American portraitist Gilbert Stuart was born in the village of Saunderstown, located in the southern region of North Kingstown. 02852 401/884-3014, fax 401/294-3826, kerrigan@jar.com Contact: Mark Kerrigan. Background: CASTVIEW is a finite element analysis-based casting process simulation program using fluid, heat transfer and structural solvers. It has been under development since 1990 by the Industrial Materials Institute (IMI IMI International Masonry Institute (Washington, DC) IMI Israel Military Industries IMI Institute of the Motor Industry IMI International Market Insight IMI Imposto Municipal Sobre Imóveis (Portugal) ) of the National Research Council of Canada The National Research Council Canada (NRC) is Canada's leading organization for scientific research and development. History NRC was established in 1916, mainly to advise the government. Then, in the early 1930s, laboratories were built in Ottawa. . Extensive experimental verification is performed by IMI in its foundry laboratory. Software Features: model building, mold filling, solidification, microstructure, residual stress and CAD interfaces. Process Applications: high and low-pressure diecasting, sand casting, permanent mold casting - with a comprehensive library of aluminum, iron, steel, zinc, copper and lead alloys. Computer Platforms: SGI (SGI, Sunnyvale, CA, www.sgi.com) A manufacturer of workstations and servers, founded in 1982 by Jim Clark. The company was founded as Silicon Graphics, Inc., but changed to its acronym in 1999. , HP, IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) , and SUN Unix systems (Intel/Win under development). Cost: Lease and paid-up options from $15,000-$50,000. Number of Installations: 12. FLOW-3D Flow Science, Inc. 1257 40th Street, P.O. Box 933 Los Alamos, New Mexico Los Alamos (Spanish: Los Álamos, meaning "The Cottonwoods") is an unincorporated townsite in Los Alamos County, New Mexico. The population of the townsite alone was 11,909 at the 2000 census. The townsite or "the hill" is one part of town while White Rock is also part of the town. 87544 505/662-2636, fax 505/662-6564, cfd@flow3d.com, www.flow3d.com Contact: Michael Barkhudarov. Background: Flow-3D is based on methodology developed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) (previously known at various times as Site Y, Los Alamos Laboratory, and Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory) is a United States Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National . Since its 1985 release, the program has evolved with additions for a wide assortment of physical models, advanced numerical techniques and powerful pre- and post-processing features. Software Features: model building, mold filling, solidification, microstructural (phenomenological only), CAD interfaces, binary segregation, lost foam, thixotropic, shrinkage models, STL (STereoLithography) A 3D printing file format created by 3D Systems for its stereolithography system. Also supported by many numerical control, rapid prototyping and rapid manufacturing machines, STL provides the surface geometry of the item in triangles. viewer. Process Applications: all. Computer Platforms: all, including PCs running Windows 95 and Windows. Cost: $8000-14,000/year on PCs; $15,000/year Unix. Number of Installations: [greater than]200. MAGMASOFT MAGMA Foundry Technologies, Inc. 2340 S. Arlington Heights Road Arlington Heights, IL 60005 847/427-1001, fax 847/427-0601, sales@magmasoft.com, www.magmasoft.com Contact: Christof Heisser. Background: Developed by foundrymen at the Technical Univ. of Aachen, Germany, the Technical Univ. of Copenhagen, Denmark, and Magma GmbH, Aachen, Germany, MAGMASOFT is an advanced 3-D fluid flow, heat flow and residual stress simulation package available for all major foundry processes. Software Features: model building, mold filling, solidification, microstructure, residual stress, CAD interfaces, casting and mold distortion. Process Applications: steel, iron, aluminum, nonferrous sand, permanent mold, low pressure and high pressure. Computer Platforms: Silicon Graphics, Hewlett Packard, IBM and Sun. Cost: Not reported. Number of Installations: [greater than]250. MAVIS DIANA Alphacast Software Ltd. 2 Kimble Close, West Hunsbury Northampton, NN4 ORF England 44 1604 674716 (phone and fax) Contact: Cliff D. Jobson. Background: Mavis and Diana are 3-D solidification simulation packages designed specifically for foundry engineers and technologists. Both packages contain two types of simulators, a rapid simulator and a finite difference model. Both packages were developed at the ITC ITC (Brit) n abbr (= Independent Television Commission) → Fernseh-Aufsichtsgremium ITC n abbr (BRIT) (= Independent Television Commission) → for materials in high performance applications at the Univ. of Wales Wales, Welsh Cymru, western peninsula and political division (principality) of Great Britain (1991 pop. 2,798,200), 8,016 sq mi (20,761 sq km), west of England; politically united with England since 1536. The capital is Cardiff. Swansea. Software Features: model building (under development), solidification, CAD interfaces and dimensional change in pressure diecasting. Process Applications: Mavis - all gravity casting processes; Diana - pressure diecasting. Computer Platforms: Pentium PC, Pro or Pentium II. Cost: $10,000. Number of Installations: 27 (Europe). NOVASOLID 3D NovaCast AB Soft Center S-Ronneby, 37225 Sweden 01146/457-71830, fax 01146/457-71830. Contact: Hakan Fransson. Background: Based on advanced algorithms that take gravity and flow during solidification into consideration. Software Features: model building, solidification and CAD interfaces. Process Applications: cast iron, steel, aluminum and copper based. Computer Platforms: PC. Cost: $14,000. Number of Installations: [greater than]25. PASSAGE/POWERCAST Technalysis, Inc. 7120 Waldemar Drive Indianapolis, Indiana 46268 317/291-1985, fax 317/291-7281, service@technalysis.com, http://www.technalysis.com Contact: Vic Hansen. Background: Passage/PowerCast is the latest module of a suite of finite element software developed for solving flow and heat transfer problems. Software Features: model building, mold filling, solidification, microstructure and CAD interfaces. Process Applications: all casting processes in all metals. Computer Platforms: Unix workstations and supercomputers. Cost: One-time license $50,000; annual lease $20,000 Number of Installations: 12. PROCAST UES UES UNE (University of New England) Economics Society UES Upper East Side (Manhattan, NY) UES Upper Esophageal Sphincter UES Unified Energy Systems of Russia UES Waukesha, Wisconsin 4401 Dayton-xenia Rd. Dayton, Ohio 45370 937/426-6900, fax 937/429-5413, barry@dayton.ues.com Contact: Steve Barry. Background: The original release performed conduction heat transfer with extensive radiation capabilities and was aimed at investment casters. Full Navier-Stokes flow with free surfaces was added for permanent mold modeling. In subsequent years, ProCAST has grown to include microstructure modeling, stress analysis, electromagnetics and automatic meshing. Software Features: model building, mold filling, solidification, microstructure, residual stress, CAD interfaces, inverse and radiation. Process Applications: sand, permanent mold, low and high-pressure die, structural investment, single crystal investment, continuous, centrifugal, tilt-pouring, lost foam and rheocasting - in all alloys. Computer Platforms: PC and UNIx based workstations. Cost: $9500-$100,000. Number of Installations: 150. SIMTEC SIMTEC Simulation Technology SIMTEC, Inc. 1959 Will N.W. Grand Rapids, Michigan “Grand Rapids” redirects here. For other uses, see Grand Rapids (disambiguation). Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 197,800. 49504 616/361-9623, fax: 616/365-9854, simtec@crn.gns.net Contact: Jurgen Biermann. Background: 12 years of successful jobs in Europe and Asia in finite element simulation. In U.S. since Jan. 1997. Software Features: model building, mold filling, solidification, microstructure, residual stress, CAD interfaces, load stress and finite element prototyping. Process Applications: any casting process; heat treatment and stress strength. Computer Platforms: Each Unix based PC or Workstation as well as Windows NT or Windows 95. Cost: $50,000. Number of Installations: 100. |
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