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Cavity Layout Design Methodology For Die-Casting Dies: January 2010
Cavity Layout Design Methodology For Die-Casting Dies: January 2010
Cavity Layout Design Methodology For Die-Casting Dies: January 2010
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Received: 5 March 2012 / Accepted: 5 November 2012 / Published online: 22 November 2012
# Springer-Verlag London 2012
Side Core
Parting Line
Withdrawal
Direction
Parting
Direction
Undercut
Cavity Half
Part
Core Half
Many of the available commercial computer-aided design longer lead time for the die casting die design. Therefore, to
(CAD) systems, available today, such as SolidWorks, Pro/ reduce lead time, die casting industry needs a computer-
Engineer, Inventor, NX, CATIA, etc. provide integrated aided system for multicavity die casting die design with a
modules and features for die design. These die design mod- good level of automation.
ules of CAD systems are widely used to speed up product The development of add-on software applications is
realization process for complex die casting die design pro- made easier and faster as commercial CAD platforms pro-
cess and to assist the die designer in design revisions. The vide the developers with a library of functions, an estab-
CAD model of any part, which is basically a digital descrip- lished user interface and a style of programming [1]. These
tion of the part, provides a basis for this die design. The die add-ons are more advantageous as CAD data transfer can be
design module of any CAD system in general focuses on made very easily and that too without any data loss, which
few steps of die design process, i.e., parting line and parting results in saving of lead time and cost. Development of an
surface creation, side core design, etc. These modules are add-on software application for die casting die design,
limited to core–cavity block creation that too for a single- which depends on major influencing factors of: die design
cavity die only. Another limitation associated with the avail- knowledge, manufacturing resources and part geometry, and
able mold design modules is the lack of automation, as there also takes very less information from the designer, would be
are several steps where designer knowledge, interaction, and a major step towards automation of die design process for
input are essential. Furthermore, availability of specific add- die casting.
on applications for die casting die design is lacking. These In the present work, a system, named Auto_Die_Caster
deficiencies of mold design knowledge and automation in has been developed which works as an add-on application
available systems results in higher number of iterations and for SolidWorks. Proposed system depends upon database of:
die casting machines, die casting materials, standard die
bases, and applies die design knowledgebase. The
Auto_Die_Caster is divided into four modules, namely data
initialization, cavity design, cavity layout and die base de-
sign, and core–cavity design. The proposed system deals
with major issues encountered in the multicavity die design
of die casting. These issues are determination of number of
cavities, design of cavity, multicavity layout design, core
and cavity generation, and side core design for a multicavity
die casting die. First, cavity design module is responsible for
setting shrinkage allowance and providing draft. Next, cav-
ity layout and die base design module is capable for calcu-
lating optimal but feasible number of cavities. It uses die
design knowledge for placing the cavities in the die base by
Fig. 2 a Single-cavity die casting die, b multicavity die casting die [41] taking into account die cast part design and manufacturing
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2013) 67:2083–2107 2085
resource considerations. Finally, core–cavity design module that assists mold designers in cavity layout design at early
is used to create core and cavity block with side cores for a stages. This knowledge-based system makes use of case-
multicavities die. and rule-based reasoning to arrive at layout solution. The
The rest of the paper is divided into following sections. system graphically shows the possible design of cavity
Section 2 of this paper discusses related research and re- layout based on the input taken from the user. It takes
search gaps. Section 3 discusses the problem statement, number of cavities as input from the user and is not able
solution methodology and brief description of four modules to extract the information from product model.
of the proposed system. Section 4 presents the cavity design Fuh et al. [1] developed a prototype system for die casting
module. Sections 5 and 6 describe cavity layout and die base die design which is structured by several functional modules
design and, core–cavity design, respectively. System imple- as specific add-on application of Unigraphics. These modules
mentation and results are presented in Section 7. Lastly, include data initialization, cavity layout, gating system design,
conclusions drawn from this research work along with fu- etc. However, the number of cavities has been determined
ture work are discussed in Section 8. based on selected machine only besides pattern selection for
cavity layout requires human expertise.
Low and Lee [15, 16] proposed a methodology of cavity
2 Related research layout design for plastic injection mold in which only stan-
dard cavity layouts are used. When only standard layouts are
Most of the research for die design of die casting is focused used, their layout configuration can be easily stored in a
on determination of parting direction, parting line, parting database for fast retrieval to be used in the mold design.
surface determination, and gating system design only However, undercut features and nonstandard configurations
[2–11], whereas lesser attention has been given to address have not been considered.
the issue of design of multicavity die casting die. Design of Chan et al. [17] developed an interactive knowledge-
a multicavity die casting die depends on activities like based injection mold design system called IKB-MOULD,
determination of number of cavities, cavity layout design, which uses experience and knowledge of product design
core–cavity design, and side core design. Literature sur- and mold manufacturing. It is a CAD system, which pro-
veyed in this research is divided into these four categories. vides an interactive environment to assist designers in the
Some research papers published on the mold design for rapid completion of mold design. The number of cavities is
injection molding have also been discussed due to strong determined by using empirical relations only. The system
similarity between both the processes. Subsequently, we does not consider geometrical constraints while calculating
discuss research gaps and objectives of present study. number of cavities. Balanced cavity layout patterns are only
considered and the system lacks in level of automation.
2.1 Previous work Woon and Lee [18] proposed a system that enables the
die designer to design a die casting die beginning with CAD
2.1.1 Cavity layout design file of the part. It uses a methodology that combines feature-
and constraint-based modeling in a parametric system along
Reddy et al. [12] developed a software package for providing with geometrical and topological information extraction
intelligent assistance in several tasks involved in the design of technique from B-rep model of the part. However, selection
die casting dies. These typically include material selection, of number of cavities and cavity layout is not automatic and
parting line location, gating design calculations, and die layout. requires human expertise.
The number of cavities is determined based on selected ma- Wu et al. [19] developed a system that helps to realize
chine and alternate layouts are displayed to the user. However, automatic generation of gating system by applying parametric
this system can only handle axis–symmetric components and design. Design module of the system deals with data initializa-
only circular type layout pattern has been considered. tion and cavity layout design. The number of cavities to be used
Ye et al. [13] presented an algorithm for initial design of is suggested on the basis of empirical relationship only. The
injection molds. First of all parting line for a part is deter- system does not consider geometric constraints and cost factors
mined, followed by calculation of required number of cavities. for calculating number of cavities. Also, orientation of individ-
The cavity layout is generated based on information of layout ual cavities is based on the expertise of the designer.
pattern and orientation of each cavity, which is taken from the
user. The mold base is loaded automatically to accommodate 2.1.2 Determination of number of cavities
the layout. However, this system does not consider exact
details for clearance and selection of layout pattern is manual. Dewhurst and Blum [20] presented a methodology for cost
Hu and Masood [14] developed an Intelligent Cavity estimation of die cast parts by considering processing time and
Layout Design System for multiple-cavity injection mold manufacturing cost. It derived an expression for optimum
2086 Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2013) 67:2083–2107
number of cavities by considering cost factor only. However, complex features and parts with free from surfaces and real
it does not consider cavity layout design or platen size deter- undercuts features.
mination tasks. Priydarshi and Gupta [27] have developed a methodolo-
Madan et al. [21] presented a system which determines gy to automate design of multipiece permanent molds. This
number of cavities by considering factors like available man- methodology determines accessibility of each facet along
ufacturing resources, die casting machine constraints along the chosen parting direction, by checking the obstruction of
with limitations due to part geometric features. It uses a each facet with rest of the facets of the part. However, it
knowledge base of die casting process to determine part cost approximates the free-form surfaces with a number of planar
in the environment of manufacturing resources. However, the surfaces and therefore may result in loss of data of the part
system does not address the issue of cavity layout pattern and CAD model.
its layout design.
Kumar et al. [22] proposed a system which is capable to 2.1.4 Side core design
calculate feasible number of cavities for a die casting die by
considering delivery date, production cost, machine con- Hui and Tan [24] used visibility and accessibility analysis
straints, and part geometric limitations. Layout pattern is for determination of demoldability of given part model.
first determined which is followed by orientation and place- Semi-infinite rays, originating from surface grid points to-
ment of cavities within the die base. However, it is not able ward the chosen parting direction were used to classify the
to develop CAD model of the core and cavity. surfaces as obstructed or unobstructed. It defined a factor
(i.e., a blocking factor) to determine the extent of the block-
2.1.3 Core and cavity design age along the chosen parting direction for side core design.
The direction with largest side core preference value was
Some of the research work reported in the recent years for chosen from the set of possible side core directions.
generation of core–cavity blocks has been summarized in Shin and Lee [25] developed a methodology for design of
the following paragraphs. Fu et al. [23] proposed a method- side cores for injection molds. It first detects all interference
ology to generate parting surface and core–cavity blocks for faces from a cavity or a core by using a projection algo-
a die casting die. The parting line edges are classified into rithm, and then generates side cores using Euler-based ap-
inner and outer edge loops. Parting surfaces are generated proach. However, this method can generate ambiguous
by extruding the parting line edges to the boundary of the results, when two or more than two undercuts overlap in
core–cavity bounding box. Boolean regularized difference same plane.
operation (BRDO) method is used to generate core–cavity Zhang et al. [28] reported an algorithm to automatically
blocks. However, a local tool like side cores for undercut create side cores for injection molds. It first identifies un-
features has not been addressed in this work. dercut edges, then determines the undercut faces and then
Hui and Tan [24] proposed a “sweep method” to form classifies them to form individual undercuts. By using the
core–cavity blocks of a mold. Part model is swept in the boundary representation (B-rep) of a solid model, the algo-
parting direction to generate a swept solid. A cavity preform rithm grouped all the external edges of a face as an outer
is then generated between the cavity solid and the swept loop, and all the internal edges of the face as an inner loop.
solid on the cavity side by using BRDO method. A core However, algorithm would face difficulties if an undercut
preform is created using a similar method. Finally, the core edge did not belong to any inner or outer loop of the part
and cavity blocks are created. The proposed method is faces.
limited to parts which do not have any through holes. Ye et al. [29, 30] used extended attributed face-edge
Shin and Lee [25] proposed a method which uses an graph (EAFEG) representation to recognize interactive
Euler-based approach to develop core and cavity develop- undercuts and to generate side cores. The EAFEG is based
ment so that side core and corresponding core and cavity on the topological relationship of B-rep models of the
plates are generated. Parting surface is generated by extrud- molded parts. An undercut feature is defined by an undercut
ing the parting line to split mold cavity into two halves. subgraph in EAFEG. By searching the cutsets of subgraph,
Zhou et al. [26] presented a feature-based approach to the undercut features are recognized. After recognizing un-
automatic generation of injection mold. Features of a part dercut features, a Boolean operation is used to generate a
are first recognized using a universal hint-based feature side core for each undercut.
recognition algorithm. The optimal parting direction is Banerjee and Gupta [31] developed an algorithm to au-
determined based on the feature model of the part. tomatically generate the shape of the side cores by using
Core and cavity are automatically set up by splitting STL file of part model. Candidate retraction space for every
mold box of the part with the generated parting surface. The undercut facet has been computed by determining collision-
developed system was not able to handle the parts with free translation space. The side core is considered to be
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2013) 67:2083–2107 2087
retracted in a plane perpendicular to the mold opening Present work is an attempt to develop a generative system
direction. for design of a multicavity die casting die from CAD model
Fu [32] introduced the concepts of surface moldability of a part. Efforts have been made in the proposed system to
for identifying all the surfaces of the core, cavity, and side consider influencing factors affecting die design decisions at
cores. The undercut feature moldability is analyzed and different stages of die design. These influencing factors
grouping of undercut features is done. Through extraction pertain to part geometry, material, manufacturing resources,
of undercut feature surfaces, the head geometry of side core standard die base sizes, cost, time considerations (read de-
can be constructed by sewing all of the extracted undercut livery time), etc. Use of die casting die design knowledge,
feature surfaces. The entire side core is generated via uniting CAD file of the part, relevant databases, application
the side core head with designed side core body. However, programming interface (API) functionality of SolidWorks
intersecting features which are usually present in the molded makes Auto_Die_Caster very much useful in practical sit-
parts have not been considered. uations. Proposed system is divided into following modules.
Recently, Bassi et al. [33] developed and implemented an
& Data initialization
automatic feature recognition methodology for side core
& Design of mold cavity from part CAD model.
design by taking the part B-rep information and a specified
& Design of cavity layout and die base for multicavities dies.
parting direction as input. Intersecting features are identified
& Design of core–cavity with side cores for multicavity die.
using accessibility analysis.
Next section of this paper gives a description of the
2.2 Research gaps and objectives of present work developed system and its major components.
base design, and core–cavity design. Furthermore, the pro- be used as an input and output may be directly utilized for
posed system is supported by various databases, i.e., die further downstream applications like die manufacturing. The
casting machines database, die casting alloys database, and functional modules and components of the system are shown
standard die bases. In addition, the system utilizes die design in Fig. 3 and a brief discussion is made in the following
knowledge at various stages. The proposed system has been paragraphs.
developed as an add-on application of the SolidWorks soft- First module namely, data initialization deals with loading
ware by using SolidWorks API functions. SolidWorks is pop- of the part model and input of process data. The CAD model
ularly known solid modeling software developed by Dassault of the part is first taken as input using graphic user interface
Systemes [34]. Advantage of using a commercial CAD (GUI) of the system. A snapshot of the GUI of the system is
modeler like SolidWorks is that product model of the part can given in Fig. 4. The user needs to set the coordinate system to
orient the part model in such a way that Y/-Y direction The Core–Cavity Design module is responsible for de-
becomes parting direction of the part. The feature information sign of core and cavity blocks for a multicavity die. The
of the part is extracted and stored by the system for down- design of side cores is also attempted in this module. First of
stream activities. Thereafter, as has been shown in Fig. 5, all, parting line is identified by the user by selecting the
process parameter window prompts the user to input informa- edges. This is followed by creation of shut-off surfaces. The
tion related to number of undercuts and their position, lot size, system generates the parting surface by extruding the part-
delivery date, material, and die cost. ing lines. The core and cavity solids even for a multicavity
The Cavity Design module is responsible for setting shrink- die can be generated in this module. The details of the core–
age rate and applying draft for die cast part. The shrinkage rate cavity design module are provided in Section 6.
depends upon the material being used in the die casting. In this section, we had made a brief discussion on four
Similarly, the selection of draft also depends on many factors modules of the system. First, data initialization is used for
influenced by the part material and its geometry. The loading part CAD files alongside inputting other required
Auto_Die_Caster maintains a material database which along information. In the following section, we make a detailed
with the die casting process information is used for selecting discussion on other three modules of the system.
appropriate shrinkage and draft. User has an option to either
accept shrinkage or draft suggested by the system; alternative-
ly, the user may enter a new value as per specific requirements. 4 Cavity design
This module is discussed in detail in Section 4.
The Cavity Layout and Die base Design module works for The cavity design module of the developed system consists
the determination of number of cavities, selection of feeding of two submodules Apply Shrinkage Allowance and Apply
system and layout pattern, and orientation and placement of Draft. These submodules of the Cavity Design module are
multiple cavities by considering usual clearances and position discussed in the following paragraphs.
of undercut features. The number of cavities is determined by
considering comprehensive factors of delivery date, produc- 4.1 Apply shrinkage allowance
tion cost, selected machine, and geometrical limitations. The
feeding system and layout pattern is then selected by using die Apply shrinkage allowance is a submodule, which has been
casting die design knowledge. Finally, orientation and place- developed as a part of cavity design module. Role of this
ment of cavities is decided by considering different factors submodule is to scale the part model to apply shrinkage
like undercut position and clearances required. The die base allowance. It is always advisable to apply a shrinkage al-
size is selected from the database of standard sizes available. lowance to the die casting component to compensate for the
Output from this module is a CAD model of the containing shrinkage of the solidified part due to difference between the
box enclosing all the cavities with applicable clearance. die temperature and the ambient temperature. The informa-
Detailed discussion of this module is presented in Section 5. tion flow diagram for apply shrinkage allowance and apply
draft submodules is shown in Fig. 6.
The apply shrinkage submodule is developed by using
the “Scale” function of the SolidWorks API. Firstly, a ref-
erence point is selected which is nothing but centroid of the
part and then the part is scaled in the three orthogonal
directions by applying the shrinkage allowance. The shrink-
age rate depends upon the die casting alloy used and its
value is selected from the material database automatically.
The system maintains a database of die casting materials
which is sourced from [35, 36]. The proposed system is
flexible in the sense that the user has the option to either go
with the shrinkage allowance suggested by the system or to
provide any other desired rate. The evaluation of shrinkage
acceptance is left to the user for making appropriate deci-
sion. User may either proceed with system suggested shrink-
age value or choose the suitable shrinkage rate as per
requirement of processing condition.
A dialog box named “apply shrinkage allowance” is
displayed to execute this submodule. A snapshot of the
Fig. 5 Input process data window shrinkage allowance dialog box is shown in Fig. 7a. An
2090 Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2013) 67:2083–2107
Where
help of Fig. 9. The draft applied to inside walls is double that Design of cavity layout is crucial for deciding other down-
of outside walls. stream activities related to die design and manufacturing. A
After part model is applied with shrinkage and draft, the few attempts made in the past [14, 15] for the cavity layout
next activity is to decide about the number of cavities and to and die base design, but most of these are limited to the use of
arrange these in the die base, which is discussed in the next case-based approach and preloaded database. Use of genera-
section. tive approach for design of cavity layout has been given less
attention. Earlier, we have made an attempt to present a
generative system for computer aided cavity layout design
5 Cavity layout and die base design for die casting dies [22]. This module presents improvements
over the earlier system [22] by way of including selection of
It is always more economical to design a multicavity die so type of feeding system and additional layout patterns.
that more number of components can be produced in a single The cavity layout and die base design module of the
die casting process cycle. Using a multicavity die will reduce Auto_Die_Caster consists of four submodules, which are men-
cost of the product, besides increasing productivity. tioned below and are explained in the subsequent paragraphs.
Reinbacker [40] suggested that on a per cavity cost basis,
two cavities provide little saving, eight cavities cost 25 % less & Determination of number of cavities
and 64 cavities have an associated cost reduction of 60 %. & Selection of types of feeding system and layout pattern
Deciding number of cavities depends upon several factors & Orientation and placement of cavities
related to time and cost in addition to manufacturing and & Die base design
geometric limitations. Once the number of cavities is deter-
mined, these have to be placed in the die base as ingeniously 5.1 Determination of number of cavities
as possible in a particular pattern, which requires good knowl-
edge of die design. Preference of feeding system type also This submodule is responsible for determination of economical
affects selection of cavity layout and design of die base. and feasible number of cavities by considering influencing
Neutral
Plane
Fig. 8 GUI for “Apply Draft” with part model and neutral plane position
2092 Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2013) 67:2083–2107
Inside
wall
Outside
wall
factors like delivery date, production cost, machine con- center of the cavity half. Various types of bottom and central
straints, and part geometric limitations. Detailed proce- feeding gating system are shown in Fig. 10.
dure for selection of number of cavities can be found in Selection of types of feeding system depends upon die
[22]. casting alloys and types of die casting machine used. Hot
chamber machines are used for low melting point alloys (tin,
5.1.1 Selection of types of feeding system and layout pattern lead, and zinc) while for high melting point alloys (alumi-
num and copper) cold chamber machines are employed [35].
This submodule helps to select type of feeding system which Interaction with die casting industries have revealed that
is used to inject molten die casting alloy. Generally, central bottom feeding system is used in cold chamber die casting
feeding and bottom feeding systems are used for this purpose. machines only, while hot chamber die casting machines
In central feeding system, the shot hole is positioned in the employ both bottom feeding and central feeding systems.
center of the cavity half, while in bottom feeding system; the The user has a choice to either go with suggested feeding
shot hole is usually offset by a clearance distance from the system to select the other one.
Part Feature
Data
Clearance
Determine Orientations and Placement of
Database
Cavities
Is Possible
Layouts > 1?
No
Yes
3 cavities
Die Base
Runner with 3
cavities
Biscuit
Fig. 13 A snapshot of output of cavity layout design module for a three cavity die with bottom feeding system
and their location puts a restriction on the orientation of Once orientation of individual cavities is finalized, the
cavities. That side of the cavity, which contains undercut next step is to provide clearance to accommodate feed
feature, should be placed along outer edge of the die base. system (biscuit, runner, and overflow wells) and side cores.
Therefore, that side of the part, which does not contain an A database of clearances has been developed after consult-
undercut becomes candidate side for gate location. ing die casting industries, available literature [22, 36], and
Parting
Line
Part feature
data
1 Re-select
Do selected
No
edges form a
closed loop?
Yes
2
Is through No
undercut > 0?
Re-select Yes
Do selected
No
edges form a
closed loop?
Yes
X
2096 Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2013) 67:2083–2107
Fig. 15 (continued)
X
3
Create plane at highest point of parting line
Is through No
undercut > 0?
Yes
Select an undercut
Generate side-core
No If all
undercuts
done?
Yes
5
Orient core-cavity halves of single-cavity as per selected layout pattern
Final core and cavity blocks for multi-cavities die with side-cores
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2013) 67:2083–2107 2097
Core Shut-
off Surface
Part Model
Undercut
Undercut
Cavity Shut-
off Surface
by interviewing die designers and die makers. This database of placement of biscuit is applied. All possible arrangements for
clearances is used to achieve automated cavity layout design. orientation and placement of cavities are determined and one
For bottom feeding system, additional clearance of 100 mm for with minimum area is suggested by the system.
Generated
Side Core
Construction Selected
History Sketch ‘2’
Fig. 17 Side core design window of Auto_Die_Caster
2098 Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2013) 67:2083–2107
Containing
Box
These submodules are discussed in the following para- be realized by the core or cavity and need a special tool,
graphs, while their information flow diagram is shown which is known as side core. Sometimes, the undercut
in Fig. 14. feature may be a through hole. This creates a through
passage from the undercut region to the core or the cavity
6.1 Parting line selection region. The undercut(s) therefore need to be separated from
the regions to be covered by core and cavity. This is done by
Parting line selection submodule is used for selection of a creating an imaginary surface or a patch at the interface of
parting line for a given part interactively by using SolidWorks the undercut region with core or cavity. This surface creation
software. The designer needs to select edges of the parting line is done automatically by using fill surface command,
one by one on the part model. If selected edges form a closed wherein the user is prompted to select inner edges of
cycle, the system shows the message “parting line created undercut feature. Purpose of creating this patch is to
successfully” else the message of “wrong loop selection” is facilitate formation of shut-off surfaces. A shut-off surface is
displayed. A view of the parting line selection window is nothing but a surface formed by stitching all the core side
shown in Fig. 14. Algorithm for selection of parting line is surfaces (core shut-off surface) and cavity side surfaces (cav-
shown in part I of Fig. 15. ity shut-off surface) of the part.
The Mold Tool which is an application of SolidWorks
6.2 Shut-off surface creation software is used for the purpose of creating shut-off surfa-
ces. The algorithm for shut-off surface creation is shown in
Undercut(s) may be present in some of the die cast parts. part 2 of Fig. 15. The core and cavity shut-off surfaces for a
Those regions of the part which form the undercut(s) cannot part model are shown in Fig. 16.
Super
Core
Cavities
(4) Side-cores
Super
Cavity
Fig. 20 Multicavity core and cavity along-with side cores for example part 1
2100 Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2013) 67:2083–2107
Core–cavity generation for a single-cavity submodule is This submodule of the core–cavity design module is used
used for generation of core and cavity halves for a single- for generating side core(s) for a single-cavity. The direction
cavity die. The single core–cavity halves so generated are of side core removal is the same as that selected by the user
utilized in later steps of this module to generate multicavity in input process data window during data initialization. The
core and cavity. Sequence of steps followed in this submodule steps used in this submodule are mentioned below (Fig. 17).
is as follows.
& First, a plane parallel to parting direction is created on
& Create a plane at highest point of parting line. that side of die cast part where undercut is present.
& Draw a rectangular sketch on this plane, whose size equals & The user needs to select outer edges of the undercut
maximum projected dimensions of the die cast part. feature and undercut withdrawal direction. These select-
& This rectangular sketch is offset by applicable clearances. ed edges form a closed loop of edges.
& Parting surface is created by extruding the parting line & This closed loop of edges is extruded up to the plane,
beyond this rectangular sketch. which was created in first step of this submodule.
Containing
Box
& To generate side cores, split feature of SolidWorks are multicavity die, details of a single cavity are first figured
used to create multiple bodies from a single body. out, which are then utilized for design of multicavities in a
definite relationship. This relationship between a single-
cavity and multicavities is outlined in the following points.
6.5 Multicavity core and cavity generation
& Parting surface, which is the surface, dividing the cavity
6.5.1 Relationship between single-cavity and multicavity into core and cavity halves remains the same in single
cavity and multicavity.
We have discussed in Section 1 that in a single-cavity die & The undercut features, which are recognized for a single
only one part is produced in a die casting processing cycle. cavity, are also applicable for the multicavity.
However, a multicavity die, has a number of identical & The individual cavities in a multicavity die are placed in
impressions, which are generally arranged in a particular the die base in such a way that there is sufficient clear-
layout pattern. A multicavity die is used to produce number ance distance between any two adjacent cavities.
of parts in a single die casting processing cycle. These & In, single- and multicavity die, the clearance distance
identical impressions, also known as cavities are connected between a cavity and edges of the die base remain the
with a gating system, which is used to feed all cavities. The same.
layout pattern in which the cavities could be arranged has & Same shrinkage rate and draft rules are applicable in
already been discussed in Section 5. For generating a both single- and multicavity.
Super
Core
Cavities Side-
(6) cores
Side-
cores
Super
Cavity
Fig. 23 Multicavity core and cavity along-with side cores for example part 2
2102 Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2013) 67:2083–2107
Fig. 25 The cavity layout design for cylinder head cover with bottom feeding system
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2013) 67:2083–2107 2103
Windows XP operating system. An API is a particular set of 7.1 Case study 1: example part 1
rules and specifications that any CAD system can follow to
communicate with design of any component. It serves as an The die cast part taken in this case study is shown in Fig. 18.
interface between different software programs and facilitates This part is having the characteristics of: zinc alloy material,
their interaction, similar to the way the user interface facili- two undercut features in the selected parting direction and
tates interaction between humans and computers [34]. Object- envelope size of 180×90×40 mm (length×breadth×height).
orientated programming approach has been used with Results generated by Auto_Die_Caster for this case study
Microsoft Visual Basic.NET (VB.NET) language. are presented in Fig. 19. The system was able to generate a
The geometrical information of the part such as projected cavity layout arrangement in which undercuts were lying on
area, wall thickness, longest part depth, number of undercuts outer sides. The number of cavities determined by the system
and their location is the only information to be provided by in this case study is four and the layout pattern is symmetric
the user. Also user has to provide data related to delivery with central feeding system. Four numbers of cavities is the
date, lot size, and total production time along with the part maximum possible when a die casting part is having undercuts
material. Developed system has been tested on a number of on two sides. Envelope size for single cavity in this case is
parts including those that have undercut features. To dem- 218×128×120 mm, while size of the die base is 519×519×
onstrate the capabilities of the proposed system, results 120 mm. The die layout generated in this case study is also
obtained from the system for four die cast parts are being satisfying the condition of minimum die base size require-
presented in the following case studies. ments. The standard die base size selected by the system is
Super
Core
Cavities
(4)
Super
Cavity
Fig. 27 Example part 4 clutch center 7.3 Case study 3: cylinder head cover
Fig. 28 The cavity layout design for clutch center with bottom feeding system
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2013) 67:2083–2107 2105
while size of the die base is 490.6×355.6×95 mm. The die direction and envelope size of 67.8×67.8×50 mm (length×
layout generated in this case study is also satisfying the breadth×height).
condition of minimum die base size requirements. The stan- Results generated by Auto_Die_Caster for this case study
dard die base size selected by the system was 496×396× are presented in Fig. 28. The number of cavities determined
115 mm. The CAD models of supercore and supercavity by the system in this case study is five and the selected
generated by the system in this case are presented in Fig. 26 layout pattern is half-circular with bottom feeding system.
in an exploded view. Envelope size for single cavity in this case is 105.8×105.8×
130 mm, while size of the die base is 585.6 × 576.7 ×
7.4 Case study 4: clutch center 130 mm. The die layout generated in this case study is also
satisfying the condition of minimum die base size require-
The die cast part taken in this case study of an automotive part ments. The standard die base size selected by the system
named clutch center, which is shown in Fig. 27. The part taken was 596×596×150 mm. CAD models of supercore and
in this case study is having the characteristics of: aluminum supercavity generated by the system in this case are pre-
alloy material, no undercut features in the selected parting sented in Fig. 29 in an exploded view.
Super
Core
Cavities
(5)
Super
Cavity
In each of the example parts discussed above, number of system more useful and increase the level of automation.
cavities determined by the system is sufficient to meet the Although, present research work focuses on important steps
delivery time. Although more number of cavities could have for designing a multicavity die casting die, i.e., cavity design,
been geometrically possible for these example parts, same is cavity layout and die base design, and core–cavity design with
not explored by the system to make proper use of manufac- side cores; it does not address complete die design sequence.
turing resources, namely the die casting machines. To achieve a complete die design, more functionalities need to
The present system depends upon a knowledge base, which be implemented, such as gating system design, cooling system
is developed with the help of available literature and guide- design, ejection system design, etc., which need further re-
lines provided by the industry experts. Opinions of industrial search and development. We intend to make improvements in
experts were taken to verify results. Furthermore, enough the system in these directions to increase its usefulness.
flexibility has been provided in the system for the user to alter
suggested decisions interactively, which makes the system Acknowledgments This paper is part of the research project titled
“Automated Design of Die from part Product Model”. We are thankful
quite useful under practical situations. to All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) which has
funded this project under Research Proposal Scheme vide grant no.
8023/BOR/RID/RPS-146/2008-09 dated March 12, 2009 to Mechanical
8 Conclusions Engineering Department of SLIET, Longowal, Punjab, India. We are also
thankful to Er. Abhinav Krishan Mittal, Junior Research Fellow,
M.N.I.T., Jaipur for extending help in VB.NET programming.
A system named Auto_Die_Caster has been presented
which can be used for design of a multicavity die casting
die. It uses CAD model of the part as a SolidWorks part file
along with user interaction to generate CAD files of core,
cavity, and side cores for a multicavity die casting die in an References
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