Citation
(1998), "MCP vacuum casting replicatesend-product", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 70 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.1998.12770bab.003
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 1998, MCB UP Limited
MCP vacuum casting replicatesend-product
MCP vacuum casting replicatesend-product
The characteristics of the final product can be replicated at the prototype stage by a range of advanced vacuum-casting systems from MCP Equipment.
A choice of nearly 20 casting resins enables the colour, looks and feel of the end product to be reproduced with close precision. Resins are available to confer different hardness, strengths, finishes, flexibilities, tactility, resistances, etc.
Providing shot capacities from 450-14,000 grams, MCP's vacuum-casting machines are designed to replicate rapid prototypes in volume with a finish quality equal to that of injection moulding at a small fraction of the tooling costs.
They owe their operational economy to the inexpensive silicone-rubber moulds in which the two-stage resins are cast to reproduce low-cost copies of prototypes or to run small production batches. They are widely used by design departments and model making bureaux.
The split mould is made from the master model, which can be in any material from the laser-cured resin of stereolithography to plastics, wood, wax or plaster. The mould is placed in the machine's casting chamber and the resin is mixed robotically and cast into it in a vacuum, which forces the mixture into every part of the mould, regardless of its complexity.
MCP says that the resulting casting faithfully replicates the master in strong component up to the level of ABS with a finish devoid of defects, bubbles, etc. Sixty or more castings can be produced from the mould before wear and tear necessitates a new mould.
The systems which are computerized incorporate monitoring of the vacuum chamber with continuous digital read-out of operating conditions. The microprocessor system also stores data on mixing and casting programs for several moulds to enable the machine to be reset quickly when a mould is changed.
Details from MCP Equipment. Tel: +44 (0) 1785 815651.