OPTIMIZATION OF GATING SYSTEM PARAMETERS OFCI CONVEYOR BRACKET USING TAGUCHI ANDCOMPUTER AIDED SIMULATION TECHNIQUES

In sand casting method, process of making casting depends upon various factors like mould, gating system, type of metal etc.For a sound casting, it is required to optimize the casting parameters for a given geometry of casting, to remove the defects and improve the quality in casted products.In this paper Taguchi technique along with design of experiments method (DOE) and Computer Aided Casting Simulation Technique are combined for optimization of gating system parameters of a CI Conveyor Bracket to improve the Product Yield (PY) and Hardness (HRD) of the casting.The gating system related parameters considered are, Runner Upper Diameter (mm), Runner Lower Diameter (mm), Runner Height (mm), Ingate Height (mm), Pouring Time (sec). In the First half part of the work, Taguchi based L18 Orthogonal Array was generated for experimental purpose and analysis of result was done using S/N ratio, Minitab 17 Software and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to analyze effect of gating system parameters on Product Yield and Hardness. In the second half part of work, AutoCast simulation software was used for validation of the result. Parameters are also validated by implementing it in foundry.