Design for die casting

Abstract
The purpose of this research was to establish methods and a system for transforming finished (machined) part designs into shapes that are die castable. The major contribution from this work is a consistent and systematic method of analysing the shape of die castings. This research is necessary because computer-aided design/manufacturing/engineering (CAD/CAM/CAE) systems are only loosely coupled, making manufacturability analysis very difficult. Part features which are critical to successful die casting are identified and the coupling between geometric information, geometric reasoning, and knowledge of the die casting process is clarified. A prototype system using solid modelling, object oriented programming and rule-based systems is under construction to test the proposed concepts.