The purpose of this study is to compare the efficacy of two rapid casting technologies, namely, ZCast process and investment casting based on 3D printing technique of rapid prototyping for casting of aluminium alloy. A standard procedure has been premeditated starting from the identification and design of benchmark. The concept was presented in physical form by producing prototypes to assess the impact of technology used on dimensional accuracy by assigning tolerance grades as per UNI EN 20286-1 ISO. Important mechanical properties were also compared to verify the suitability of the castings and further results are supported by microphotographs and radiography analysis. Best settings for the 3D printing machine and the minimum shell thickness for ZCast process are proposed which give the acceptable results as per IS casting standards. Two commercially available powders, namely, ZP14 (starch based) and ZP100 (plaster based) were infiltrated with two infiltrants, namely, acrylate and wax, resulting in four different material systems for making patterns for investment casting. For ZCast process the shells were printed in ZCast501 powder and were directly used as mould with sand support. The proposed rapid casting technologies based on 3D printing, proved to be effective for the production of cast technological prototypes in very short times avoiding any tooling phase and with dimensional tolerances that are completely consistent with metal casting processes.

The purpose of this study is to verify the feasibility of decreasing the shell thickness in rapid casting (RC) process based on three-dimensional printing technology and to evaluate the dimensional accuracy, mechanical properties of RC solutions for the production of zinc-alloy casting. Starting from the identification of component/benchmark, technological prototypes were produced with different shell thickness. Measurements on a coordinate-measuring machine helped in calculating the dimensional tolerances of the castings produced. Some important mechanical properties were also compared to verify the suitability of the castings, and further results are supported by the radiography analysis. The study suggested that the shell thickness having value less than the recommended one is more suitable from dimensional accuracy and economic point of view. The provided data from the experimentation are extremely useful for the industrial application of the considered technology. The result indicates that at 7 mm shell thickness, hardness of the casting improved from the recommended 12 mm. Further, production cost and production time have been reduced by 41 and 37 per cent, respectively, in comparison with the 12 mm recommended shell thickness.

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