When a component is manufactured by casting, it often needs to be designed in a certain way. Often the designers are unaware of the pitfalls in casting design. CastCHECK does the checking for the designer. With CastCHECK, casting friendly design becomes easier. Casting friendly design means lowest possible manufacturing costs and it lowers the risk of component failure by minimizing manufacturing-induced quality problems. Like FEM-analysis software, it uses 3D geometry, so it can be used with almost any 3D CAD-system on the market.

What can you do with CastCHECK?

• check the castability of the component
• decide where to add or remove material to improve castability
• define the areas suspect for defects
• define areas to be inspected
• forward new information to the foundry to speed up the production

What are the advantages of using CastCHECK?

• defect-free castings at lower price
• decreased lead-time
• more accurate delivery times
• reduced risk of component failure
• better understanding of the casting process
• easier communication with the foundry

Is it difficult to use?

One very important goal when designing CastCHECK was the ultra ease of use. There is only one main dialog the user needs to interact with when making the analysis. The user needs to set four things to be able to make the analysis:

• Import into CastCHECK the STL file of the component
• Define precision of the analysis
• Give the casting method (in most cases default setting is fine)
• Give the thinnest section size of the component

Which platforms are supported?

The development of CastCHECK has been done on Windows NT (Pentium) and PowerMac environments. The platforms we are supporting are:

• Windows NT (486, 586, Pentium, Pentium Pro, Digital Alpha later)
• Windows 95/ 98
• MacOS (PowerMac)
• Silicon Graphics
• HP
• SUN
• RS 6000
• LINUX