Product category:
Materials processing and testing
News Release from: Norse Precision Castings
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 05 December 2000
Company business analysis benefits
urethane
Comparison of the processes of aluminium sand castings and some mouldable plastics revealed some interesting parallels especially concerning rigid polyurethane.
The threat of plastics to companies traditionally in metals forming businesses has never been more real than today Plastics technologies are well established and new formulations extending their capabilities are being added at an alarming rate
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 21 Jul 2000 at 8.00am (UK)
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Not as a result of these threats but more one of searching for a response to market developments, Norse Precision Castings invested some time ago in a classic company analysis, the fruits of which are now being reaped.
Comparison of the processes of aluminium sand castings, upon which Norse Precision castings had been built a healthy reputation, and some mouldable plastics revealed some interesting parallels especially concerning rigid polyurethane.
Like aluminium, the material fluidity of rigid polyurethane at moulding means an ability to form complex three dimensional patterns to near net shape, with minimum draft angles, often zero.
These characteristics are also evident in mould designs and pattern making skills are crucial.
Post-casting operations are similar and follow this with the excellent machinability of both and the finished part can be offered very clean with very low tolerances.
The similarities enabled Norse Precision Castings to cross fertilise production skills and with a modern CAD design facility, run the design processes in parallel.
Moreover as today's designers have a wide choice of supplier for plastics, plastic from a 'metals company' offers mutual benefits.
The straight choice of metal versus plastic from a company without bias is useful, but to be able to incorporate both, i.e a metal enclosure with a plastic front, or a plastic component with metallic inserts has sensible design and cost advantages.
A component can be designed with either adequate plastic wall thicknesses or in recognised areas of high stress metallic strengthening ribs.
This combination allows the designer the luxury of putting materials only where they are needed and taking the benefits of both, namely the light-weight of plastic and the strengths of a metal.
Further casting-in metal inserts cold, minimises the possibility of distorting delicate items such as electronic packages, connectors, co-axial components etc.
broadening again the design capabilities.
Readily available, low cost tooling, producing up to 2000 off extends economic supply from low volume and pre-production prototypes to medium volume production runs.
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