Case Study: Electric Hand Tool Component
The initial manufacturing process for the electric hand tool component employed die casting, a fitting choice for its high-volume production requirements. However, the inherent nature of die casting, coupled with efforts to optimize material flow in the mold, led to persistent porosity issues. Consequently, significant cracking in the teeth area emerged, contributing to a substantial failure rate of 15 to 25% during field assembly.
Acknowledging the imperative for improved structural integrity in the teeth area, AmTech proposed a shift to Investment Casting (I.C.). Despite initial skepticism from the customer, given the high-volume and cost-sensitive nature of the part, we conducted a thorough cost analysis utilizing our robotic line, ensuring 100% automation from wax mold creation to mold breaking for part extraction. The calculated price presented a 7% reduction compared to the customer’s existing cost, leading to the successful awarding of the project to AmTech.
The shift to Investment Casting effectively resolved the challenge by eliminating cracking in the teeth area and concurrently enhancing the overall strength of the component. This notable improvement was accomplished with a 7% cost reduction, eliminating the need to discard 15 to 25% of rejected parts.
AmTech’s proficiency in advocating and implementing Investment Casting proved transformative for the electric hand tool component, mitigating stress-induced cracking and fortifying structural integrity without adding unnecessary weight and accomplished with a 7% cost reduction and eliminating the money wasted in rejected parts.
