FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Michael Tsenter
tel: 818-761-6500
fax: 818-761-6116
e-mail: nest@primenet.com
RAPID MANUFACTURING OF HIGHLY COMPLEX METAL PARTS
WITHOUT THE NEED FOR DIE CAST TOOLING
STUDIO CITY, CALIFORNIA - July 7, 1999: NEST Technologies, Inc.
announced today the commercial availability of the proprietary
PRECICAST™ Technology for production of intricate metal castings.
Subsequent to a five-year development and a two-year pilot
manufacturing, the PRECICAST process has been implemented in a brand new
state-of-the-art foundry.
This technology has been developed to provide product manufacturers with
an effective method of obtaining complex metal parts without the cost
and lead time that is typically associated with producing a die-casting
mold. PRECICAST process is just as effective for a quick delivery of 50
- 100 prototype parts, as for rapid manufacturing of 10,000 - 20,000
production quality components with the same level of precision and
repeatability.
The greatest advantages of this process are realized for producing
components having extreme geometric complexities such as thin walls,
tall pins & fins, deep narrow pockets, and other intricate details.
These types of components are often found in hydraulic and power-train
systems, transmission and engine parts, electronic enclosures and
electrical housings, as well as in many other industrial applications.
The geometrical capabilities of the PRECICAST process open new
possibilities for design engineers to reduce part weight by minimizing
wall thickness, to enhance heat transfer by incorporating aggressive
cooling pins & fins, and to eliminate many machining requirements by
casting deep holes, large threads, and other tiny details.
At the heart of the PRECICAST process is the sand & ceramic molding
machine. This custom built automated system applies a very thin layer
of ceramic material onto the tool in order to create a rigid and smooth
casting surface. Once the ceramic layer is deposited, it is then
backed-up with a highly compressed sand & resin mixture.
In order to take advantage of this unique technology, a fully
computerized and automated foundry was built. This state-of-the-art
metal casting facility was designed to assure the highest level of
quality, precision, repeatability, and flexibility. The foundry is
built around a Central Warehouse System and a Central Planning System
for providing the highest flexibility & productivity, creating a
paperless environment, and eliminating the possibility of human errors.
Each project starts with a comprehensive computer simulation and
analysis to assure that the first casting is the right one. The
software used for this simulation was custom designed for the PRECICAST
process and it was fine-tuned during the pilot manufacturing stage of
the previous two years.
Once the simulation is complete, the tooling is designed using 3D CAD.
The tooling is then milled from a solid block of very dense plastic
material using a high-speed CNC machine. The simulation, engineering,
and tooling creation usually takes 2-3 weeks, and at this point the
molding and casting process can begin at a rate of 30 molds per hour.
So it is not uncommon to have several hundred parts completed within 4-5
weeks from the beginning of the project.
The foundry also has a three-chamber fluidized-bed installation for
precision heat treatment in accordance with the requirements of the
specific alloy. Presently, any grade of aluminum can be cast, however,
magnesium, iron, and other alloys will be introduced in the future.
A detailed technical description along with the videotape showing the
foundry and the process is available upon request.
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-- NEST Technologies, Inc. 3849 Ridgemoor Drive Studio City, CA 91604 USA Tel: 818-761-6500 Fax: 818-761-6116 e-mail: nest@primenet.com web site: http://www.primenet.com/~nestFor more information about the rp-ml, see http://ltk.hut.fi/rp-ml/
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