Patent ID: 6776212
Filing Date: 2004-08-17
Classification: B22D

Abstract:
A method for manufacturing castings, comprising:selecting a set of conditions, each comprised of a pre-selected level for a pre-specified physical parameter for the manufacture of castings thereunder; manufacturing, at a manufacturing facility, a first plurality of castings under said selected set of conditions; analyzing said first plurality of castings for defects; constructing a database from said analysis of said first plurality of castings, said database including at least one defective casting profile; manufacturing, at said manufacturing facility, a second plurality of castings under said selected set of conditions; for each one of said plurality of castings, measuring an actual level for each one of said physical parameters during said manufacture of said casting; discarding, from said second plurality of castings, each casting for which said measured levels of at least one of said physical parameters match one of said at least one defective casting profile of said database; marking each one of said second plurality of castings with a unique identifier; and constructing a profile for each one of said second plurality of castings, each one of said profiles including said actual level of each one of said physical parameters during the manufacture of, and said unique identifier marked on, one of said second plurality of castings; analyzing each one of said second plurality of castings for defects; and including defect information for each one of said second plurality of castings in said profile constructed therefore; wherein the step of analyzing said second plurality of castings for defects further comprises: selecting a first portion of said second plurality of castings for testing at said manufacturing facility; and performing at least one test on each one of said selected portion of said second plurality of castings; and deriving defect information for each one of said selected portion of said second plurality of castings from said at least one test performed thereon.