Aluminum turbine rotor cast in ABS mold

thingiverse

An Aluminum Casting of a Turbine Using an ABS Mold My Understanding is the Original Turbine Pattern Can be Found Here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:590416 by Engi-IRL. I Modified a Possible Remix from Another User, prk_mek. The File can Be Found Here: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:680664. The Instructions are as Follows: A Turbine File was Considerably Scaled Down to About 1.25 Inches in Diameter. ABS Molds were Printed with 0.20mm Layers at Medium Speed. 120 Minutes Were Required, Resulting in 22 Grams of ABS, According to My Notes. The Afinia Default Support Angle Was Reduced from 30 to Just 10 Degrees to Minimize Support at the Curve of the Blades' Tips. The Fins Are so Thin (About 0.02 Inches) that There Would be No Way to Remove Support from Such Skinny and Curved Crevasses. And It Looks Like Most of the Fins Came Out in the Casting. Aluminum Was Poured at 1250F. A Small Amount was Used, Resulting in Little Smoke. The Hot Rotor Did Melt Through the Mold Face, but Just Didn't Have Sufficient BTUs to Scorch the Plastic... Cooled Rather Quickly. The Semi-Finished Casting Weighs About 7.5 Grams. Several Modifications Were Made to This Prototype Centrifugal Casting Machine I've Been Working On, and I Needed Something to Test it With. The Turbine Appeared Good-Looking and Challenging. I'd Estimate the Casting Came Out 90% Good, with 10% Defects. A Better Gating System (Sprue, Runners, Gates, Vents, Etc.) Should Fix Most of the 10%. ABS Molds are New Territory, so There's Much Trial and Error. This Project Follows a Few Prior Explorations into What Casting Metal in a 3D Printed Mold May Have to Offer. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:735587 Aluminum Heat Sink https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:733205 Gravity Cast Tube