Metal Casting and Extrusion

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• FLEXIBLE INDUSTRY: Lathe - Torch Table - Multimachine & Flex Fab - Plastic Extrusion & Molding - Metal Casting and Extrusion
  
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Metal Casting and Extrusion (MCE)- metals from the waste stream, and eventually aluminum from clay - may be turned into valuable forms or extruded profiles. Engine blocks, structural metals, wire, and many other uses abound. This is doable with local compressed gas sources as the source of heat.

Introduction

Project Specification

The open source foundry must be able to melt aluminum and cast iron.

Melting point of aluminum

~1220°F

Melting point of cast iron

2192 °F

Babington Burner Research

Warning: if you coil your supply fuel line around your combustion tube for preheating, then if your fuel supply runs out or the pump stops, the fuel in your fuel line will heat up to the temperature of the burner (about 1200 degrees F), which is above the flashpoint for most fuels. If your fuel flow stops for more than a few seconds, is it safest to wait 10-15 minutes until everything cools, then try restart the burner. I once didn't wait, and had superheated oil flow into my sump and start it on fire - not good![1]

[2]

Foundry Research

[3] [4] [5] [6]

Casting Furnaces

There are several types of casting furnaces which include Electric Arc furnaces, Blast furnaces, Cornwall Iron Furnace, etc. The electric arc furnace can be described as a furnace heating charged materials by the way of an electric arc. The Blast Furnace can be referred to as a kind of metallurgical furnace, through which the process of smelting takes place.

Blast Furnaces produce metals, normally iron. These furnaces trace their origin to China (around 500 BC). Electric Arc furnaces exist in all the sizes-right, from the smallest one having a capacity of around 1 ton to the largest one having a capacity of 400 tons. The former one is used in foundries to produce cast iron products, whereas the latter one is used for secondary steel making.[7]

Development Work Template

1. MCE - Product Definition
   1. MCE - General
   2. MCE - General Scope
   3. MCE - Product Ecology
      1. MCE - Localization
      2. MCE - Scaleability
      3. MCE - Analysis of Scale
      4. MCE - Lifecycle Analysis
   4. MCE - Enterprise Options
   5. MCE - Development Approach
      1. MCE - Timeline
      2. MCE - Development Budget
         1. MCE - Value Spent
         2. MCE - Value available
         3. MCE - Value needed
   6. MCE - Deliverables and Product Specifications
   7. MCE - Industry Standards
   8. MCE - Market and Market Segmentation
   9. MCE - Salient Features and Keys to Success
2. MCE - Technical Design
   1. MCE - Product System Design
      1. MCE - Diagrams and Conceptual Drawings
         1. MCE - Pattern Language Icons
         2. MCE - Structural Diagram
         3. MCE - Funcional or Process Diagram
         4. MCE - Workflow
      2. MCE - Technical Issues
      3. MCE - Deployment Strategy
      4. MCE - Performance specifications
      5. MCE - Calculations
         1. MCE - Design Calculations
         2. MCE - Yields
         3. MCE - Rates
         4. MCE - Structural Calculations
         5. MCE - Power Requirements
         6. MCE - Ergonomics of Production
         7. MCE -Time Requirements
         8. MCE - Economic Breakeven Analysis
         9. MCE - Scaleability Calculations
         10. MCE - Growth Calculations
      6. MCE - Technical Drawings and CAD
      7. MCE - CAM Files
   2. MCE - Component Design
      1. MCE - Diagrams
      2. MCE - Conceptual drawings
      3. MCE - Performance specifications
      4. MCE - Performance calculations
      5. MCE - Technical drawings and CAD
      6. MCE - CAM files whenever available
   3. MCE - Subcomponents
3. MCE - Deployment and Results
   1. MCE - Production steps
   2. MCE - Flexible Fabrication or Production
   3. MCE - Bill of materials
   4. MCE - Pictures and Video
   5. MCE - Data
4. MCE - Documentation and Education
   1. MCE - Documentation
   2. MCE - Enterprise Plans
5. MCE - Resource Development
   1. MCE - Identifying Stakeholders
      1. MCE - Information Collaboration
         1. MCE - Wiki Markup
         2. MCE - Addition of Supporting References
         3. MCE - Production of diagrams, flowcharts, 3D computer models, and other qualitative information architecture
         4. MCE - Technical Calculations, Drawings, CAD, CAM, other
      2. MCE - Prototyping
      3. MCE - Funding
      4. MCE - Preordering working products
      5. MCE - Grantwriting
      6. MCE - Publicity
      7. MCE - User/Fabricator Training and Accreditation
      8. MCE - Standards and Certification Developmen
      9. MCE - Other
   2. MCE - Grantwriting
      1. MCE - Volunteer grantwriters
      2. MCE - Professional, Outcome-Based Grantwriters
   3. MCE - Collaborative Stakeholder Funding
   4. MCE - Tool and Material Donations
   5. MCE - Charitable Contributions

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