REAL CASE

SCENARIO
TEAM KART
IIT KHARAGPUR

OBJECTIVE
To propose a suitable
MANUFACTURING PROCESS
MATERIAL
to reduce the cost of K-2s uprights without
significant design
changes for an
annual volume of 25,000 vehicles.

SPECIFICATION OF UPRIGHTS

FRONT UPRIGHT

REAR UPRIGHTS

CURRENT DESIGN OF THE

UPRIGHTS

The method employed by us in

manufacturing the uprights was CNC
machining.
The cost per car was $ 333.91
Therefore, cost for 25,000 cars is $
8,347,750

SELECTION CRITERIA FOR

MANUFACTURING PROCESS
1
2
3
4

Cost of process
Material selection
Lead time of process
Reliability of the product

POSSIBLE PROCESSES
AFTER CONSIDERING MANY PROCESSES WE ARRIVED
AT THE FIVE MOST APPROPRIATE FOR THE
MANUFACTURING OF OUR UPRIGHTS. THEY WERE:
1.SAND CASTING
2. CNC MACHINING
3. WIRE EDM
4.FORGING
5.DIE CASTING

COMPARISON BETWEEN DIFFERENT

PROCESS
PROCESS

INITIAL
CAPITAL
INVESTMENT

SURFACE
FINISH

STRENGTH

LEAD
TIME

Scale of
production

Sand
casting

low

low

Low

high

small

CNC
machining

high

high

high

low

large

Wire EDM

high

high

high

high

small

Die casting

high

medium

medium

low

large

forging

high

high

high

low

large

Therefore, we are left with two best process for

manufacturing
PARAMETERS
DIE CASTING
FORGING
Production errors

Has some metallurgical

defects

no defects

Change in
homogeneity

Tight control of heating and

cooling required

no change

Longevity of dies.

lower

higher

strength

medium

high

Complexity of dies

Can be complex

Cannot be very
complex

Operating cost

lower

higher

 Strength and surface finish of forged product

is higher than that of a die casted product.
Operating costs for die casting are lower
than forging.
Considering the advantages and
disadvantages of both the processes, we
select die casting since the drop in strength
and
surface
finish is more
than compensated
PROCESS
SELECTEDDIE CASTING
by the lower operating cost of die casting

DIE CASTING
PROCESS
After deciding upon the die-casting process
there are several decisions to be made
1.Choice of upright material and die casting
equipment
2.Choice of number of dies and die material
3.Die Design (Orientation and Cores)
4.Post casting processes

CHOICE OF UPRIGHT MATERIAL AND DIE CASTING

Non-ferrous alloys, like those EQUIPMENT
of aluminium, copper, magnesium and
zinc are generally used in die-casting. Since our priorities are low
cost and structural integrity rather than weight, Aluminium is the
obvious
choice.
Al
Streng Corrosion
Heat treatable
series

th
(ksi)

resistance

2XXX

27 to 62

poor

Yes

3XXX

16 to 41

good

No

4XXX

25 to 55

medium

Some alloys are heat treatable and others aren't

5XXX

18 to 51

good

No

6XXX

18 to 58

good

Yes

7XXX

32 to 88

poor

Yes

THEREFORE , MOST SUITABLE MATERIAL ALUMINIUM 6

High
melting
point metals like aluminium use
SERIES
(6061)
casting method.

cold chamber die

CHOICE OF DIE MATERIAL

AISI H13 hot work steel is an excellent die material for
Aluminium die casting.
H13 is produced from vacuum degassed tool steel ingots. This
manufacturing practice plus carefully controlled hot working
provides optimum uniformity, consistent reponse to heat
treatment, and long service life
The maximum service life for dies in aluminium die casting is
around 100,000 cycles which is well above the required 25,000
cycles.

NUMBER OF DIES
Cycle time for die casting is typically very short, ranging from
a few seconds to a minute.
Taking the upper limit of cycle time, the total time required to
manufacture 25,000 units of one upright is a mere 416 hours
and 40 minutes.
Since time is no constraint, we only need one set of dies per
upright.

DIE DESIGN
Design features
Two runners
Multiple water
channels for uniform
cooling
Thin zigzag air vents
(2mm wide and 0.2
mm high)
(only allows air to
pass)
Draft allowance in
cover is more than in
ejector
Ejector pad with 5

POST CASTING PROCESSES

o MACHINING - machining is required for getting smooth
surface finish of wheel hub mounts and brake calliper mounts
of uprights after die casting process .
o DRILLING- drilling is required for making holes for A arm
mounts, brake calliper mounts and tie rod mounts.
o CUTTING- cutting is required for the removal of extra metal
that is left after die casting process as runners.
o TAPPING- tapping is required to create screw threads in the
holes drilled.

MACHINING
13.105 cm3
CUTTING
4.8 cm
DRILLING AND
TAPING
8 holes

RATE

PER CAR

TOTAL

Mass of front upright

1.39 kg per uprignt

2.78 kg

69500 kg

Mass of rear upright

2.90 kg per upright

5.80 kg

145000 kg

8.58 kg

214500 kg

0.858 kg

21450

9.438 kg

235,950 kg

Total mass of uprights per car

Additional mass for machining allowances

10%

Total mass of uprights

Cost of 6061 Aluminium
cost for die casting process
Total volume to be machine

$ 0.2921 per kg

$ 4 per kg
13.105 cm3

$ 2.757

$ 68,921

$ 37.752

$ 943,800

52.42 cm3

1310500 cm3

Cost of machining

$ 0.04 per cm3

$ 2.0968

$ 52420

holes

8 per upright

32

800000

Cost of Drilling

$ 0.35 per hole

$ 11.2

$ 280000

cost of tapping

$ 0.35 per hole

$ 11.2

$ 280000

Length to be cut

4.8 cm per upright

19.2 cm

480 m

Cost of cutting

$0.10 per cm

$ 1.92

$ 48000

Cost of dies

$ 20000 per die

Total cost

$ 17.5314 per

$ 80,000

$ 70.1256

$ 1753141

CONCLUSION
Manufacturing process-

die casting

Material to be used

aluminium 6 series (6061)

Total cost when CNC machining was

employed

$ 8,347,750

Total estimated cost for the manufacturing

of uprights using die casting process

$ 1,753,141

Total cost per upright (CNC MACHINING)

$83.47

Total cost per upright(DIE CASTING)

$ 17.5314

Reduction in cost

$8,347,750 - $ 1,753,141 = $
6,594,609

THANK YOU