Ablation sand casting is a new technology for casting aluminum alloys which helps to achieve superior cooling trends during the solidification and results in eutectic microstructure, reduced degree of defects, and improved mechanical attributes. To further enhance the functionality, water-soluble binder-based sand molds are used in conjunction with appropriate control over process parameters for specialized applications such as complex and thin-walled impeller manufacturing. In this regard, the influence of key process parameters including binder ratio (BR), sand grain fineness number (AFS number), and pouring temperature (PT) is investigated thoroughly on the mechanical characteristics (ultimate tensile strength and hardness) and dimensional accuracy of the thin-walled impeller. Ablation sand casting revealed exceptionally enhanced mechanical properties and dimensional accuracy as compared to conventional sand casting. The AFS number and binder ratio were most significant for controlling the dimensional accuracy. Multi-response optimization through Grey Relational Analysis reveals the optimal setting PT = 800 ℃, ASF number = 45, BR = 5% for lower dimensional deviation, higher hardness, and ultimate tensile strength through conventional sand casting. While for ablation case, the optimal conditions PT = 850 ℃, ASF number = 40, BR = 9% are attained against desired attributes. The attributes are significantly improved through ablated sand casting, dimensional accuracy 31.6%, hardness 58.9% and ultimate tensile strength 41.82%, and fractography analysis depicted the ductile fracture surface. The current technology is drawing attention of industry because of its potential in producing castings with superior mechanical properties and improved internal integrity.

Sand-casting is a well established primary process for manufacturing various parts of A356 alloy. However, the quality of the casting is adversely affected by the change in the magnitude of the control variables. For instance, a larger magnitude of pouring velocity induces a drop effect and a lower velocity increases the likelihood of cold-shut and mis-run types of defects. Similarly, a high pouring temperature causes the formation of hot tears, whereas a low temperature is a source of premature solidification. Likewise, a higher moisture content yields microcracks (due to gas shrinkages) in the casting and a lower moisture content results in the poor strength of the mold. Therefore, the appropriate selection of control variables is essential to ensure quality manufactured products. The empirical relations could provide valuable guidance in this regard. Additionally, although the casting process was optimized for A356 alloy, it was mostly done for a single response. Therefore, this paper aimed to formulate empirical relations for the contradictory responses, i.e., hardness, ultimate tensile strength and surface roughness, using the response surface methodology. The experimental results were comprehensively analyzed using statistical and scanning electron microscopic analyses. Optimized parameters were proposed and validated to achieve castings with high hardness (84.5 HB) and strength (153.5 MPa) with minimum roughness (5.8 µm).

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Literature has vastly advocated for incremental sheet forming as a significant process for formation of sheet metal components, because of its higher formability in comparison with the rest of metal forming processes such as deep drawing and stamping. Due to high formability of incremental sheet forming it becomes important to investigate the main factors, influencing the quality of forming products. However, less attention has been given to investigate the inconsistencies reflected often in determining the effect of multiple forming parameters and parametric interactions comprising of spindle rotational speed and feed rate, tool size and sheet thickness, sheet thickness and step depth. This study investigates the effect of various principal factors including tool type, tool size, sheet thickness, spindle speed, feed rate, step increment including and their respective interaction on surface roughness. Research data was collected by undertaking extensive literature review of previous studies on incremental sheet forming regarding surface quality. A quantitative one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to analyze the significance and contribution of factors influencing surface quality of sheet forming. The findings highlight the contribution of forming parameters and their combined interactions on surface roughness. Based on the empirical findings, this study derives implications for the optimization of tool type, parametric interactions among principal factors and their respective optimized operational range for incremental sheet forming.

This paper presents the study to investigate the effects of binder ratio, in-gate length and pouring height on hardness, surface roughness and casting defects of sand casting process. Taguchi methodology with L9 orthogonal array was employed to design the experimentation. Sand casting of six blade impeller using A356 alloy was performed and empirical models for all the above response measures were formulated. Confirmatory tests and analysis of variance results confirmed the accuracy of the model. Binder ratio was found to be the most significant parameter affecting casting surface defects and surface roughness. This was followed by pouring height and in-gate length.