Discuss possible manufacturing techniques for the part shown

Discuss possible manufacturing techniques for the part shown in figure 1 for the following production volumes. (a) 5 parts for design verification testing (b) 50 parts for an initial sample production build (c) 200,000 parts per annum ongoing production You should also suggest minor design modifications to improve the manufacturability for each process selected. All dimensions shown in centimetres (cm). Preferred material is Aluminium

10.00 4.00 101.50- 2.00 3.00 60.0 7.50 x 3 × 1.25 50 0.75 .125 EQUALLY SPACED Figure 1

Solution

(a) To make very small number of parts, say 5 then Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) technique would be useful. It is an additive manufacturing technique which uses 3-D CAD model in .stl format. Aluminium powder can be used in this process. In this process, the through hole of dia 1.50 cm and three counter-bores of dia 1.25 cm can be eliminated to avoid complicacy which can be made after DMLS with the help of drilling and boring machines.

(b) For making 50 parts, Sand Casting process would be useful. In this process also, the through hole of dia 1.50 cm and three counter-bores of dia 1.25 cm can be eliminated to avoid complicacy which can be made after sand casting with the help of drilling and boring machines.

(c) For making 200,000 parts per year, the volume of which is very high, Die Casting process would be useful. In die casing process, the holes can be made undersized by 0.5 or 1 mm which can be bored to the final size in drawing according to the degree of precision.