Experimental study of mechanical properties and morphology of parts made by lost foam casting for A356-Alloy

Lost Foam Casting (LFC) is one of the new methods of casting developed in recent years in many industries. This casting method enjoys many advantages competing with traditional casting methods. Take control of process parameters in LFC lead to the production of complex and high-quality specimens. The objective of the present study is the effective parameters optimization in lost foam casting using Taguchi method based on experimental results. At the first stage, the effective casting parameters such as foam density, melting temperature and coating viscosity are selected as optimization design variables. On the second stage required samples are fabricated in three different levels. In addition, the effects of considered parameters are studied on the surface quality, porosity and stiffness of the samples by Taguchi method. The results showed that the lowest porosity, maximum hardness and the best surface quality are determined for the coating viscosity 20 Pa.s, the melting temperature 740°C and foam density 20 kg/m3.