An Aluminum Sample

Holder:
Cast or Forged?



Amy Lautenbach
October 1, 2010
MatE 360, Dr. London

ntroduction:
hen designing any engineered product, it is important to choose the most eIIicient and
logical materials and a light measurement system is no diIIerent. One imperative piece oI a light
measurement system is the base in which the lenses and other pieces are inserted into. For the
base oI the light measurement system, aluminum has been chosen and the next important
decision is which technology to use to manuIacture this aluminum alloy into a base Ior the
lenses; casting or Iorging. At Iirst glance it seems that Iorging is a good choice because oI the
desirable properties, but with more inIormation it is clear that casting is the best method Ior this
job.

Casting:
Casting is a process done by melting the metal and bringing it above recrystallization
temperature where it is then poured into a cast with the design oI your choice. Because the base
in question must Iit the lenses and Iiber optic cables just right it makes sense to use a method that
can produce such intense detail (Figure 1).

Casting is a solidiIication process with a high
production rate and not too many steps which
could be extremely advantageous iI this product
is sold in mass amounts. Although casting
provides a process through which the
microstructure can be Iinely tuned, it does
require close process control and inspections.
Luckily, close process control and inspections will not
cause an excessive amount oI upset Ior this particular
application.




I|gure 1 Note the deta|| |n the heat s|nk
enc|osure that |s on|y poss|b|e because |t |s
cast

orging:
Forging is an alternative process Ior Iorming aluminum into the desired shape. In this
process metal is shaped by brute Iorce which plastically deIorms the aluminum. This type oI
shaping increases the number oI dislocations and
consequently the internal stress. That is why parts that are
Iorged are known Ior being uncommonly high in strength.
Ductility and toughness are also enhanced by this strain
hardening technology. Parts made Irom Iorging are known
Ior their reliability and good mechanical properties, but in
this situation those do not make up Ior the high cost and
limited shape (Figure 2).

Cast aluminum retains enough oI the mechanical properties while being lightweight, lower cost,
and higher detail thus making it the obvious choice Ior this application (Table I).

Table I: Attributes oI Casting and Forging
Mass Range Tolerance Capital Cost
Casting 0.0022-220 lb 1.97-9.84 mil 328-1.64e3 USD
Forging 0.0022 1.1e4 lb 7.87-39.4 mil 3.28e5-8.2e5 USD

This table shows that the aluminum can have just as small oI a mass. One oI the diIIerences
between the two methods is that casting can be much cheaper than Iorging which is something to
look Ior when the company buying the product has a limited budget. The third and most
important data that is compared in this chart is tolerance. Tolerance is something that shows
how close to the desired measurements the process can Iorm the aluminum. As shown in table 1
casting has a signiIicantly lower tolerance and thus can Iorm aluminum very precisely into the
desired Iorm. This is important Ior this application because it is crucial that the lense and other
pieces that go into this base do not move around. It is important that they are lined up just right
Ior the light to go through perIectly which is why casting is a much more suitable method.


I|gure 2 Note the |ack of deta|| |n the forged
a|um|num fry|ng pan

#eferences:
1. Calcom, S.A. 'Forging vs Casting. Esi-group. Ed. Parc ScientiIic. 29 Sept. 2010.
http://www.esi-group.com/products/casting/Etips/e-tips/eTip16.pdI~
2. Blair, Malcolm and Raymond . Monroe. 'Castings or Forgings? A Realistic
Evaluation. Aluminum Founder`s Society oI America. 4 Sept. 2004. 29 Sept.
2010. http://www.sIsa.org/sIsa/pubs/cvI/ecs.php~
3. "Hammered Aluminum Ior Sale." 11er. A Place to Buy, Sell & Trade. eb. 30 Sept.
2010. http://www.ioIIer.com/si/Hammered Aluminum~. (pan)
4. SolvT 3ter3atio3al, 3c. eb. 30 Sept. 2010. http://www.solvit-
international.com/metalcastingIorging.html~. (machine)
5. Granta Design Limited. CES EduPack 2010. Computer soItware. Granta: Material
Inspiration. Granta Design Limited, 2010. eb. 30 Sept. 2010.
6. Abbaschian, R., Lara Abbaschian, and Robert E. Reed-Hill. Physical Metallurgy
Pri3ciples. StamIord, CT: Cengage Learning, 2009. Print.