¬ Ingate located on one of the thickest sections of the part leads to reduce hot spots and porosity during solidification.
The reasons for choosing the ingate version 5 included: ¬ Proper flow pattern to fill the cavity ¬ Ingate located on the central area of the part helps control and reduce the temperature drop during filling. After evaluating all design options with respect to the main objectives, ingate version 5 – which was design 13 in the MAGMASOFT® analysis – was chosen as the best design. In addition, the required mechanical properties were defined as a target, prioritizing 'Reduce Hot Spot FS Time' and 'Reduce Porosity' as the main objectives. The optimization study was performed considering these criteria as objectives. To understand the efficiency of the ingates, different objectives were assessed systematically using the following MAGMASOFT® quality criteria: 'Smooth Filling', 'Reduce Hot Spot FS Time', 'Reduce Temperature Drop During Filling' and ‘Reduce Porosity'. In the first project stage, the five ingate alternatives were evaluated to select one of them for the final part and tool design. Because of that, the Döktaş engineering team designed five different ingate system options and compared them by using MAGMASOFT® autonomous engineering. This could cause long and inhomogeneous solidification resulting in feeding problems, ultimately leading to the risk of shrinkage defects. The main challenge for the Döktaş engineers for reaching the project objectives was the non-homogeneous wall thickness of the part. After a preliminary analysis and discussions regarding feasibility, an AC 43300 aluminum alloy was selected as the material, and low pressure die casting including a T6 heat treatment was defined as the preferred process. Döktaş was approached by the OEM to evaluate the feasibility of realizing the part in aluminum while maintaining the specifications defined by the customer. The bracket used in heavy duty trucks had been manufactured as a ductile iron sand casting. The goal was to convert the material and the process from a cast iron sand casting to an aluminum low pressure die casting including a T6 heat treatment, while guaranteeing the required specification and mechanical properties. Döktaş Manisa performed a project to reduce the part weight of an extension bracket.