North American Die Casting Association (NADCA) updates its R&D strategic plan and roadmap annually to guide and advance research, support the sustainable development of North America’s die casting industry, and shape the industry’s future through leading-edge technological innovation.
The roadmap is developed based on input from NADCA’s Technical Committee, aligned with the Metal Casting Industry Roadmapmanaged by the American Metal Casting Consortium (AMC), and funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Ideas for future projects are embedded in AMC’s roadmap. NADCA also proposes its own project list and continuously solicits fresh ideas from industry peers—submissions can be sent to research@diecasting.org.
The 2024 R&D program comprises 19 projects with a total funding of $6 million, supported by organizations including the Department of Defense (DOD), Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), AMC, NADCA, Advanced Composites Research Center (ACRC), and REMADE Institute for Sustainable Materials.
Research projects fall into five categories:
Additive Manufacturing
Cast Materials
Die Materials & Die Surface Engineering
Design Tools / Computer Modeling
Process Technologies
Project #213
Research Objective: Develop and validate additive manufacturing (AM) design guidelines, processes, materials for rapid tooling, and rapid tooling with conformal cooling channels. Using AM as the production method for tooling, die components (e.g., cores, inserts) that are part of the overall tooling will replace traditional methods in production dies.
Key Outcome: Several conformal cooling tooling inserts have been fabricated and field-tested at Mercury Marine and Ryobi Die Casting. Their impact on productivity and quality improvement in die casting is under evaluation.
Project #234
Research Objective: Model the fluid flow field and thermal distribution evolution of die casting dies with conformal cooling channels. The goal is to design dies with optimal thermal management for high-quality castings and extend die life.
Key Outcome: Newly launched; work is underway.
Project #231
Research Objective: Investigate failures in early-stage AM die components, identify damage locations/mechanisms, recommend design/material improvements, and help die casters learn from these experiences.
Key Outcome: Several failed AM components have been collected; analysis of failure regions is ongoing.
Project #233
Research Objective: Develop and validate AM methods to reduce porosity in thick sections of die casting dies. Die components (e.g., cores, inserts) will be identified and replaced with AM during production die manufacturing.
Key Outcome: Recently launched.
Project #227
Research Objective: Create specification guidelines for producing die casting mold inserts using AM.
Key Outcome: Dr. Midson has published a book covering all AM processes and their applications in die casting tooling, which is now used in industry.
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