AnAlysis
All calculations made were in support of the design of the pattern for the Flexor. This entails a focus on the calculations made for the gating design. Components of the gating design include the shape and calculation of the sprue, runner, gate(s), runner(s), and well. These calculations must be in “harmony” with each other. If one calculation is off regarding the gating design, the overall Flexor part will be affected in the casting process. Below is an example analysis on the shrinkage for the Flexor's part.
This analysis had to do with shrinkage allowance for the Flexor part. In castings, foundries typically use 5/32 in per foot as a “shrinkage rule.” This then led to a 1.0130 multiplier value. With these given values, one can then apply a scaling value of 1.0130 to the entire part about the centroid. This then increases the part to then compensate for the shrinkage of aluminum during the cooling process of the Flexor. In this figure, there are sketches that denote this analysis and shows that there is an increase in the dimensional values when the Flexor is scaled by the 1.0130 multiplier. By doing this, the volume and mass changed for the Flexor as well. The original volume and mass of the Flexor was 35.77in3 and 3.49lb respectively. The scaled volume and mass of the Flexor is 37.18in3 and 3.63lb respectively.
