Analysis of the variability of process parameters for sand cast Al-alloy aerospace components

This research is conducted to study the variability in sand casting processes. Specific components are selected to be monitored through the production steps. In addition to the melt preparation and pouring phase, thermal demolding and heat-treatment operations are analyzed. A metallurgical and mechanical characterization, as a function of thermal demolding cycle time, is performed. It is observed that the variability of the filling time results from the component geometry and gating system design. In the heat-treated state, depending on the increasing thermal demolding duration, no significant differences in dimensions for eutectic Si particles are observed. However, an increase in hardness is registered.