FIELD

This invention relates to a casting mould, for example a reusable casting mould that may be used in the production of parts. BACKGROUND

Prior art methods of short run production of metal parts may be expensive or slow. Where such parts are used for Research and Development (R&D) or prototyping it may be desirable for such parts to be produced cheaply, quickly, repeatably, reliably, with a wide range of shapes, with a wide range of metals or alloys, or scalably.

SUMMARY

According to one example embodiment there is provided a casting mould according to any of claims 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 15, 16 or 17, a clamping system according to claim 53, a 3D printer according to claim 48, a microwave transmitter according to claim 49, a system according to claims 50 or 51, or a part according to claim 52, or a method according to any of claims 58 to 62.

Embodiments may be implemented according to any one of the dependent claims 2, 5, 9, 11, 13, 14, 18 to 47 and 53 to 57.

It is acknowledged that the terms "comprise", "comprises" and "comprising" may, under varying jurisdictions, be attributed with either an exclusive or an inclusive meaning. For the purpose of this specification, and unless otherwise noted, these terms are intended to have an inclusive meaning - i.e., they will be taken to mean an inclusion of the listed components which the use directly references, and possibly also of other non-specified components or elements. Reference to any document in this specification does not constitute an admission that it is prior art, validly combinable with other documents or that it forms part of the common general knowledge.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings which are incorporated in and constitute part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the general description of the invention given above, and the detailed description of embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of the invention, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a system for metal casting;

Figures 2 to 7 are cross sectional views of alternative mould topographies; Figure 8 is a cross sectional view of a combined filling station and

Microwave

Figures 9 to 11 are perspective views of alternative clamping systems;

Figure 12 is a cross sectional view of a mould with conformal cooling; and

Figure 13 is a cross sectional view of an alternative mould and susceptor system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Figure 1 illustrates a system 100 for casting according to an example embodiment. In general terms there may be stages to the casting process, or stages may be combined or carried out in a different order according to the requirements of any given application. A mould is designed 102 for a specific part specification. Then an inorganic semi-permanent mould is printed on a 3D printer 104 using the mould design. The mould is filled with appropriate feedstock 106. The filled mould is energised by a wireless power source to in situ melt the feedstock 108. Alternatively, the feedstock could be melted by heating the filled mould using conventional means, for example a combustion furnace. The mould is cooled and removed from the wireless power source 110. The part within the mould can then be removed 112 and the mould can then be reused for subsequent casting if the application calls for reusability. One or more embodiments may have the advantage that a mould may be quicker to 3D print, than the part in question. In any case, once printed, the mould can be used to quickly cast two or more parts.

In any embodiment where the moulds can be reused two or more times, the typical production time of each part may be reduced from 8 hours (or much longer for some methods) to as low as 10-15 minutes. An example system, such as shown in Figure 1, may have a small footprint, operate stably, may be more efficient, provide an acceptable finish, may be fast and simple to train on and/or is low maintenance. One or more embodiments may be advantageous for the automotive, consumer goods, construction, equipment and machine, mining, aerospace, ship building and military industries.

The following terminology will be used throughout:

System An apparatus, method and/or software used in the casting process.

Consumable A raw material that is used by the System which may include: ceramic, susceptor, catalyst, release agent, binder, flux, additive, liquid, powder or metal.

Mould The printed and cured mould.

Investment Mould A single use Mould that cannot be opened without damaging the Mould.

Permanent Mould A Mould that can be reused many times.

Semi-Permanent Mould A Mould that can be reused two or more times, may also be referred to as a Reusable Mould. The number of times may depend on requirements of the applications e.g., the design of the Part, the required alloy, cost, time, level of after-mould finishing required (i.e. : grinding, filing, cutting polishing etc). The Mould may become unusable when the Mould no longer holds the molten metal without leaking. For automotive prototyping 10 (or more) separate casts may be appropriate.

Multipart Mould A Reusable Mould with 2 or more parts.

Mould Cavity A negative detail or hollow in the Mould that is filled with feedstock during casting. It shapes the external surface of the Part.

Mould Core A positive feature in a Mould that forms a void in the final

Part. A core may be reusable or single use. It shapes the internal surface of the Part.

Mould Impression The void of the Mould formed by the Mould Cavity, the Mould Core and any other Mould parts.

Interior Surface The interface between the Mould Impression and the Mould Cavity, the Mould Core and any other Mould parts.

External Surface The visible surface of the Mould when the Mould Cavity, the Mould Core and any other Mould parts are assembled.

Feedstock A consumable including powder, particle, granules, wire, ingots, or mixtures. For example, it may be predominantly metallic components. Inorganic Mould A Mould formed from an inorganic material such as a refractory material, including Metal or Ceramic.

Ceramic A consumable including a liquid, solid, composite solid or powder able to withstand thermal shock, compatible with metal (unless a barrier layer is used), and has a Maximum Service Temperature depending on the material of the part in question. For example, for a Low Temperature Metal a Maximum Service Temperature of at least 1000°C may be required.

Binder A consumable including a liquid, solid or powder to assist the forming of a Mould. Susceptor A consumable including a liquid or powder to assist in the in situ generation of heat within the Mould Impression.

Release Agent A consumable including a liquid or powder to assist removal of a Part from the Mould after the melted Feedstock solidifies. May include, or also function as, a barrier layer. Alternatively, the barrier layer may be separate.

Mould Identifier An identifier of the mould or its properties, for example a temperature resistant RFID, a temperature resistant NFC, a QR code, ID tag or a barcode attached to, embedded in or printed on the mould.

Station The device or hardware at different functional locations in the System e.g., a printer, metal feedstock dispenser, microwave, or cooling station.

Furnace The station with one or more Wireless Power Sources for heating and / or associated cooling drawers.

Part The output of the system.

Printer A SD Printer and / or associated equipment.

In Situ Heating Feedstock is heated within the Mould.

Wireless Power Source may include electromagnetic power transmission, Microwave power transmission, Inductive power transmission, RF power transmission, Capacitive power transmission or Dielectric power transmission. Microwave Electromagnetic radiation having a frequency of between

BOO MHz and 300 GHz, for example 5.725 GHz and 5.875 GHz, 2.4 and 2.5GHz, or between 902 and 928MHz.

RF Radio frequency electromagnetic radiation having a frequency of between 30Hz and 300GHz.

Inductive Wireless power transmission using a predominantly magnetic field.

Capacitive Wireless power transmission using a predominantly electric field. Maximum Service Temperature able to withstand a maximum temperature during a casting cycle without cracking, charring, shrinking, distortion, burning, melting or structural failure. A different temperature value may be used depending on the requirement of the application. For example, for the Mould it might be 1000°C, 1200°C, or 1450°C, whereas for the clamping system it might be

200°C.

Wireless Power Transmissive able to pass wireless power without appreciable power loss, or localised heating, but depending on the application. In the case of microwave transmission, a loss tangent (tan6) of 10 ³ or less is considered transmissive at least for the Mould, although different values may be used depending on the requirement of the application. For example, the clamping system may be able to accept a higher tan6 so long as it retains mechanical integrity or does not breach the Maximum Service Temperature for the Mould. Alternatively, the term wireless power transparent may be used.

Low Temperature Metal A metal or alloy with a melting point of less than 1000°C.

Density May be either an absolute measure such as Mol/mm ³ or a relative concentration measure such a proportion by molecular weight of ceramic vs susceptor at any point across a cross section of the Mould (or at a given distance from the Mould internal surface), or, compared to the portion of the total volume of susceptor used in the Mould.

Solidifies When molten metal or Feedstock makes a state transition to a solid.

Mould Design

The step of Mould design 102 in Figure 1, may be implemented using a Multipart Mould 200 as shown in Figure 2, or a single-use complex design (or Investment

Mould) which cannot be made with split moulds. In this case the Mould is broken after cooling and the part removed. The Mould may be designed in CAD software or according to the requirements of the application. Another possibility is to make tools forthe plastic injection moulding (PIM) market. An advantage of one or more embodiments over CNC machining may be to make metal tools with integral internal conformal cooling channels. The ability to cool the metal tools may reduce turnaround time, allows rapid or controlled cooling of the plastic, improved part quality and / or production volumes. PIM moulds could be cast by the System or copper could be cast to make electrodes for spark erosion of tooling steel Moulds both of which may be made more easily than CNC machining.

The SD Printer will be able to print using multiple print heads to print binder, susceptor, ink and possibly release agent, or using a single print head capable of printing multiple materials. The printed material may include a Mould Identifier on the Mould which will inform a user of those details when scanned by a suitable reader which may include: ID tag, specific Feedstock, volume/mass of Feedstock required, instructions for the Furnace, how many times the Mould has been used, where in the process the Mould is, and what the current condition of the Mould is.

Mould Printing

The step of Mould printing 104 in Figure 1, may be implemented using a local 3D printer. The Printer may use the binder jetting technique. Alternatives may depend on the application, for example Digital Light Processing (DLP) printed or

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS). This may be implemented according to the disclosure in US 5204055, or US2016193653 the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

In some embodiments the Printer may print the mould out of a powder which is able to retain its integrity by withstanding multiple melts at different melt temperatures for a range of Feedstocks. Gypsum with a powdered PVA binder that is activated by spraying with water through the print heads is one option for the moulds. Another option is silica powder with a grain size of between 50 and 600 mesh. Spherically shaped grains may flow better on the print table, but irregular shaped grains may perform well too. Alumina powder and others are possible depending on the requirements of the application. Silica may be more compatible with a wider range of molten metals (resists wetting and is non-reactive). Silica powder/binder blend is hydroscopic the powder may need to be kept in airtight containers or otherwise protected from water absorption. In some embodiments the Printer will avoid using nano aluminium powder, which may be undesirable in some applications.

Other examples of ceramics include: Zircon/Zirconia-based, Graphite, Silicon nitride, or Boron nitride.

In order to hold the ceramic powder in the desired shape we may use a binder. These are typically in a dry, powdered form and are mixed into the ceramic powder. Liquid binder may be printed rather than using it in the powdered form on the print bed.

Other Binders may include an inorganic colloidal solutions or high temperature inorganic binders such as sodium silicate potassium silicate, aluminium- phosphate, silicone resins and hydraulic-setting cements.

In some embodiments the Printer may print a susceptor 302 in the Mould parts 304 as shown in Figure 3. Alternatively, a susceptor can be painted, sprayed, sputtered, dipped or deposited directly onto the Inner Surface of the Mould. Susceptor could be directly printed through the print heads by using nano scale particles similar to pigments in ink. The susceptor generates temperatures able to melt Feedstock when exposed to wireless energy delivered by the Wireless Power Source. In addition, the susceptor may also keep the heating surface in contact with the metal allowing the Mould to perform as an excellent insulator (for safety and faster, more efficient melting etc), avoid the risk of the metal particles arcing and damaging the Furnace (e.g., in case of Microwave) and/or the Mould. Ideally the susceptor is printed in a way that reduces the amount necessary and that it does not heat up in a way that damages the Mould or the Feedstock. The susceptor 402 may be spread evenly throughout the Mould as shown in Figure 4 or varying the susceptor distribution 502 as shown in Figure 5, so that it is concentrated near the internal surface of the Mould and decreasing in density as it gets closer to the exterior surface to allow controlled heating of the Mould body and avoid thermal shock or printed in a more complex way to provide a shield around the part. There may be a susceptor layer at different depths (compared to the Interior Surface of the Mould) at different locations in the Mould as shown in Figure 6, to minimise thermal shock or thermal stress in complex part of the Mould, such as crevices. In a further alternative as shown in Figure 7, the Mould 702 may be completely formed by a susceptor material or the ceramic and/or binder may have susceptor characteristics (either at certain temperatures or in general).

In another alternative example, shown in Figure 13, the mould 1300 is printed with one or more voids 1304 in it. Susceptor material 1302 can then be placed into the voids. The susceptor 1302 may be in particulate form that is poured into the voids 1304 or may be a solid preformed shape that is inserted into the voids 1304. In the example shown in Figure 13 the susceptor 1302 is in the form of rods. In this example, the mould 1300 does not need to include any other susceptor or be printed from a susceptor material. This means that the choice of materials for the mould 1300 is greater so that the base material for making the mould 1300 can be selected for optimal compatibility with the feedstock. It may also allow the use of lower cost base materials for the mould 1300. This arrangement may also have improved resistance to thermal shock.

The susceptor materials may include Graphite, magnetite, ferrite, silicon carbide, metal oxides, zirconia, Alumina, metallised film, water, molybdenum, stainless steel or any conductive material, depending on the requirements of the application.

In some embodiments a Release Agent maybe provided on the inner most surface of the Mould. This allows easy extraction of the part but may also provide a barrier if certain alloys react to the susceptor/ceramic. This may be printed, similar to the susceptor, coated post printing or mixed with a liquid susceptor to give a hybrid coating. Graphite powder may work well for some metals. Mould life may improve with the use of a release agent applied over the susceptor, as this can protect against any chemical reaction between some metals and the susceptor.

A dehumidifier / heater may be added to control the temperature and humidity in the printer.

After printing the Mould may be cured to set the binder and expel moisture. This may be done with the application of heat (or UV in the case of DLP). The Mould cure may impact on its integrity which may be useful for a Reuseable Mould.

Feedstock

The step of Feedstock filling 106 in Figure 1, may be implemented using a Feedstock hopper, vibration platform and a weigh scale.

An alternative tube feed arrangement may be used as shown in Figure 8. In this arrangement the Mould 802 may be filled while in the Microwave 804. A high temperature resistant tube 806 (which may also be microwave reflective or absorbing) is affixed to an aperture in the roof of the Microwave 804. The Mould 802 is positioned in the Microwave 804 under the tube 806 for filling and then subsequent heating. A waveguide 808 beyond the aperture cut-off ensures no radiation leaks. The tube 806 can be removeable and/or slidable so that different height moulds can be placed underneath it. Inert gas such as Argon gas may also be dispensed into the tube 806 to reduce oxidation. Additionally, an IR sensor may be directed down the tube 806 axis to measure the temperature of the melt directly.

The ability to flow will depend on the shape of the Feedstock particles (e.g., spherical, rough or flat are all possible) and the size of the particles from nano, to micro to pellets. With Ingots, the cold Feedstock will not flow into the Mould

Impression. Ingots may be loaded into the hopper instead. Once the ingots in the hopper become molten, the feedstock will flow into the cavity and fill it. Susceptor around the Mould Impression may continue to heat the Feedstock so that it is remains molten until all sections are filled. Keeping the Feedstock molten until the Mould Impressions is filled may have advantages over the prior art which must rapidly fill the cavity before the feedstock solidifies. This may provide greater control of the Feedstock flow and/or improved quality of the Part. One or more Mould designs may help address an uneven fill, including the addition of a vibration table and designing a larger hopper in the mould to hold additional Feedstock to provide gravity assistance. Different Feedstocks will have different melting characteristics under different Wireless Power Sources and other factors including the shape and size of the particles. Spherical powder shapes of a certain size work well for most metal alloys. Aluminium may require a different approach due to its exceptionally high oxidation characteristics. A blend of different sizes and shapes of particles may be used to balance flow with meltability. Trace additives may act as a melt and/or flow catalyst or inhibit oxidization. An electronic scale may ensure the Mould is filled with the correct amount of Feedstock.

Melt Feedstock

The step of Melting the Feedstock 108 in Figure 1, may be implemented using a Furnace, such as a Microwave.

The filled Mould is placed into the microwave. The internal metal shape of the Microwave may be used to ensure radiation is focused on an optimal melt and to ensure safe use. We can also employ a 'stirrer' that ensures an even spread of microwaves. The Mould's External Surface temperature may be measured which lets the Operator know if the Part is solidified and can be removed.

The Mould may be clamped during heating and cooling. After cooling the Operator may be able to open, easily release the Part and then close the Mould and secure the clamping system repeatedly (two or more times).

The clamping system could be either part of the Mould 902 as shown in Figure 9 e.g., with ceramic bolts 904 going through specific holes 906), be independent as shown in Figure 10 e.g., using a silicone band 1002 which would be reusable, or as shown in Figure 11 e.g., using pins 1102 such as spring steel (with rounded ends) and be slightly tensioned, or be ceramic, or disposable e.g., high temp tape.

Also, it could be completely external like a feature in the floor of the Furnace, or a wedged box that holds the Mould together.

For metal Parts, the way Feedstock cools in the Mould may impact how the metal molecules are aligned and this may impact its strength characteristics i.e. tensile, shear, torsional, compression and hardness. Controlling the cooling of the metal part will allow parts of a desired strength profile. Conformal cooling in the Mould 1200 could be used to control cooling as shown in Figure 12. Alternatively, selectively melting areas of the Mould and then moving the melt zone to another area may provide additional control. Forced air cooling may quickly cool the Mould while still in the Microwave. Forced air extraction and filtering (likely to be activated carbon) to remove any noxious fumes that may be released during the melt cycle may be useful.

Once the part has been cast it is allowed to cool to a safe temperature before being handled.

Remove part The step of Removing the Part from the Mould 112 in Figure 1, may be implemented using an inspection station.

The clamping system is removed, and the Mould parts are separated. If the Mould is an Investment Mould - in which case it is physically removed (e.g. with a hammer or vibratory tool). The part is then pulled out of the Mould.

The funnel and any other casting artefacts are cut off - normally a hacksaw or bandsaw. If required, the part is then sanded, filed, finished or polished to an acceptable surface finish. It may then be coated, painted or treated in some way.

The Mould is inspected (by eye or machine or with some calibration device) for damage. It is then closed (manually) and fastened together again and refilled with

Feedstock before being placed back into the Furnace. If a long period of time has passed since the Mould was used, then it may require another cure cycle to remove any moisture that may be present. If the Mould fails the inspection, it is removed from production While the present invention has been illustrated by the description of the embodiments thereof, and while the embodiments have been described in detail, it is not the intention of the Applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus and method, and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departure from the spirit or scope of the Applicant's general inventive concept.