Aluminium Sand Casting
Year 10 House Number Wall Plate
Year 10 House Number Wall Plate
In preparation for GCSE Course Work pupils undertake a mini-project to produce a house wall plate or an item of jewellery from sand-cast aluminium.
Pupils learn about the techniques and requirements of sand casting as a manufacturing process, for example the need for a draft angle and the desirability of rounding corners and edges.
Pupils then learn about applicable 3D CAD/CAM techniques, including how to design a pattern using 3D CAD and the use of a CNC router to manufacture the pattern.
Pupils then produce a pattern from MDF, either manually or using CAD/CAM. They observe the preparation of sand casting moulds and the casting operation. When casting is complete, pupils fettle the resulting castings, which are then painted. Pupils then learn about milling as a manufacturing process and observe a demonstration of milling when the castings are faced off to reveal silver/aluminium coloured lettering against the black painted background.
Pupils learn about the techniques and requirements of sand casting as a manufacturing process, for example the need for a draft angle and the desirability of rounding corners and edges.
Pupils then learn about applicable 3D CAD/CAM techniques, including how to design a pattern using 3D CAD and the use of a CNC router to manufacture the pattern.
Pupils then produce a pattern from MDF, either manually or using CAD/CAM. They observe the preparation of sand casting moulds and the casting operation. When casting is complete, pupils fettle the resulting castings, which are then painted. Pupils then learn about milling as a manufacturing process and observe a demonstration of milling when the castings are faced off to reveal silver/aluminium coloured lettering against the black painted background.
