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Better Tooling with Mold Flow Analysis

Better Tooling with Mold Flow Analysis

by | | Die Casting, Engineering

A&B improves the tooling design process with valuable simulations of mold performance.

Great castings start with great tooling. And great tooling starts at A&B Die Casting. One of the ways that A&B ensures their in-house tooling performs perfectly from day one is to run advanced computer simulations well before any physical tooling is made.

At the earliest stages of the tooling design process, A&B engineers utilize FLOW-3D Cast software to simulate the entire die casting process. Included in all A&B tooling quotes at no extra charge, mold flow simulations give A&B engineers valuable insight into how the molten metal will flow and solidify.

FLOW-3D Cast’s highly accurate flow and solidification simulations mean that engineers can test a number of ideas to determine the very best tooling designs. For example, one customer approached A&B with a part shape that was highly cosmetic. An A&B engineer tested several design iterations of gates and runners to reduce overflows to the absolute minimum. The integrity of the part was optimized, while easier cleanup of overflows produced a better appearance.

When you buy tooling from A&B Die Casting, we make sure it’s the best it can be.
• All design changes take place before any new die steel is cut, eliminating the costly process of discovering problems after the tooling has already been produced.
• A&B can quickly and reliably evaluate part designs from any CAD system to predict the effects of the casting process and tooling performance.
• Mold flow simulations are run on all in-house tooling designs at no extra charge.

Die casting fill of a 2-cavity mold:



Single cavity mold overflow view:

Engineering Gets F’Real

Engineering Gets F’Real

by | | Engineering

F’Real Foods and A&B Die Casting create a perfect mix of engineering and aesthetics.

F’Real Foods Inc. makes it possible to whip up your own milkshake, smoothie, or frozen cappuccino in less than a minute from real ingredients — real milk, real ice cream, real fruit — at the push of a button. F’Real designs and builds innovative self-serve blending machines that can be found at convenience stores, college and universities, theaters, and military bases throughout the United States and Canada. So, if you’re dreaming of a chocolate malt at 2 am, you can make it a reality.

F’Real Foods first approached A&B Die Casting with a new design for the machine component that holds and lifts the frozen milkshake cup into the blending mechanism.
A&B Die Casting capitalizes on innovation in high technologies, powerful flexibility, and inexhaustible engineering know-how to not just help customers improve their bottom line, but cross the line to new dimensions in quality and service.

To make sure each F’Real milkshake machine works flawlessly in thousands of locations, A&B was tasked with three key criteria for the design:
1. Produce parts efficiently and economically.
2. Create an aesthetically pleasing design reminiscent of old-time milkshake cups.
3. Maintain dimensional stability to work flawlessly in an automated machine.

A&B engineers worked closely with F’Real engineering staff to review the proposed one-piece design. After analysis, A&B recommended an assembly of three die castings that were each more stable dimensionally than the one-piece design. For the attractive metallic finish, A&B did some searching to find a ceramic coating that gave a perfect retro look of brushed stainless steel to the die castings.

• Make a product that is better than you imagined
• Save money with a design that is efficient to produce
• Get a quality product that maintains dimensionally stability in demanding environments