Use of Computer Simulation Tools to Simulate Processes at the Foundry

In the foundry, the start-up and development of new castings requires considerable time and manpower required for the inevitable adjustment of process parameters and tooling. This process becomes particularly difficult in the context of existing, ongoing production. This requires the specialist breadth and multidisciplinary knowledge that determines the freedom of creativity, as well as a serious motivation to actively use in his work the possibilities of modern technology and systems of automatic modeling of foundry processes (SAM FP). The main difficulties encountered in solving the problems of the technological preparation of the casting production are the complexity of the mathematical description. This makes it difficult to apply well-known modeling programs in the foundry technology preparation. Despite this, computer simulation is becoming an integral part of the mold preparation processes. It helps to increase the competitiveness of the foundry, as more and more customers appear, which in the list of requirements to the manufacturer of castings, require the use of computer simulation. The use of SAM FP makes it possible to work out the nuances of the foundry technology on the virtual prototype of the made casting. This reduces or completely eliminates the need for trial castings, reduces the technology design process and reduces the cost of casting. Visualization of the physical processes of the foundry technology, such as the filling of the molten mold cavity, cooling and solidification of the metal, its warping under the influence of thermal stresses allows a better understanding of the features of these processes, and therefore, to manage them more effectively in order to reduce mold defects and increase the yield of good. This paper presents development of silumin casting technology using the program LVMFlow.