Click here to view an archive of past newsletters
In this December 2009 Newsletter:
Alcon Labs Benefits From NADCA Design Seminar
Draft Advantages
Update: Chinese Knockoffs
Aluminum 380, 383, 384 What’s The Difference?
Full-Scale Turbo-Prop Aircraft Engine Model Created
with 3D Printing
Design Track Registration Now Open
Alcon Labs Benefits From NADCA Design Seminar
The latest company to benefit from a NADCA Design seminar is Alcon Laboratories.
A convenient option for any company, the NADCA Design seminar comes to you. Rather than sending a large number of your
employees to a remote location, seminars are held on-site enabling them to be not only cost effective, but well-attended.
To learn more about having a NADCA Design Seminar at your company visit:
www.diecastingdesign.org/seminars/
Draft Advantages
Draft is highly recommended for all die cast product designs. The proper
amount of draft will allow production of a die casting that will be easier to remove from the die casting die
resulting in a higher quality final product. To learn more about the details and benefits of draft visit: www.diecastingdesign.org/design/basic/draft/
and www.diecastingdesign.org/design/basic/draft/advanced/.
Update: Chinese Knock-offs
In a recent blog post, Chinese Knock-offs Move Beyond Gucci Bags, I described how some
high-end Italian machinery makers are seeing copies of their equipment pop up in China. They’re fighting back through
technical innovation, lower-cost manufacturing, service, and quality.
But it made me wonder what sort of legal recourse they have, if any?
I asked Thomas Babel, an attorney specializing in litigation and intellectual property with the law firm Ward and
Smith P.A. He says that it is difficult to prove that an innovation was stolen by a Chinese company.
To view the rest of this article, click here.
Aluminum 380, 383, 384 What’s The Difference?
This is an often asked question. 380 is by far the most widely cast of the aluminum die
casting alloys, offering the best combination of material properties and ease of production. It may be specified for most
product applications. Alloy 383 and alloy 384 are alternatives to A380 for intricate components requiring improved die
filling characteristics. Alloy 383 offers improved resistance to hot cracking (strength at elevated temperatures).
For more details on the full range of available die casting alloys see Section 3: Alloy Data of the NADCA Product
Specification Standards for Die Castings manual. All sections of this manual may be downloaded at no charge in
PDF format after registering at the new NADCA Design website www.diecastingdesign.org Once registered check simply
navigate to the “NADCA Standards” menu item.
Full-Scale Turbo-Prop Aircraft Engine Model Created with 3D Printing
The worlds first full scale turbo-prop engine model was recently produced
with 3D printing. The full size physical model of the engine helped identify changes to improve the engine
assembly. Some of the 3D parts are over 4.5 feet long. This new large format 3D printing capability is also
suited for prototyping larger parts, that will eventually be die cast, for form, fit and function. For more
information visit: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20091202006479/en
Design Track Registration Now Open
Do you want to attend our 2-day NADCA design seminar and CAstExpo’10?! Now you
can do both! New for 2010 we are offering our NADCA Design seminar as part of CastExpo’10. The morning session of
this seminar will provide an overview of designing products for die casting. Various considerations need to be taken
into account and these will be reviewed. The afternoon session will provide details for die casting product design
such as alloy properties and selection, dimensional capabilities, and tolerances.
This is your chance to attend CastExpo, Design Seminars and the Cast in North America Pavilion all at once! Designers
are encouraged to sign up online at http://www.diecastingdesign.org/castexpo.
