FDM 쾌속 조형기를 통해 만들어진 ABS 파트를 이용한 직접 정밀 주조에 대한 연구

A Study of Using FDM/ABS Parts as Wax-Pattern Substitutes in the Investment Casting Process

The lead time for new products is very limited in the current manufacturing processes, therefore the Rapid Prototyping process has been introduced and generally used in the industry. Fused Deposition Manufacturing (FDM) is one of the most common methods in this field. In the FDM process, the patterns are made of Wax of ABS and ABS shows better quality of the patterns. To date, the FDM/ABS patterns are used in investment casting for making silicon moulds to produce was patterns because it is very difficult to dewax FDM/ABS directly. The aim of this paper was to propose a feasibility of using FDM/ABS parts as wax-pattern substitutes in the investment casting process. The effects of casting conditions, such as pre-heat temperature and casting temperature, are provided. Comparisons with the conventional investment casting processes using the wax-patterns under the same prototype are made. Lead-time and saving cost are discussed in using FDM/ABS parts as was-pattern substitutes compared with the products from other rapid prototype systems.