07/29/2005 -
Die Casting Engineering: A Hydraulic, Thermal, and Mechanical Process (2005)
by Bill Andresen
ISBN 0-8247-5935-4. Marcel Dekker, New York. 2005. Hardcover. 384 pages. $129.95.
| REVIEWED BY: | Deepak Saha, SPX Contech
|
Die Casting Engineering by Bill Andresen is an attempt by the author to provide a condensed practical knowledge of the die-casting industry. The book is written with a "mentor-apprentice" feel to it, with the author spending a lot of time and chapters in disclosing a purview of valuable information, which he has gained over the years.
While going through the chapters, one can visualize the experience and knowledge of the author in his field of expertise. This book is indeed a commendable venture, as the die-casting industry is a conglomeration of a group of small, fragmented companies, each having its own niche market, based on trade secrets, experience, and/or pricing. The lack of information sharing makes it extremely difficult to publish materials related to a combination of tooling, special design features, and/or pricing strategy. However, the author has provided useful information with respect to the various aspects of die casting.
Keeping with the flow of information, this book can be broadly classified into four categories: tooling and design, machine, metallurgy, and process control. The chapters dealing with tooling and design (Chapters 2 and 12) are some of the best chapters in the book, as they provide the inter-relationship between part design and associated tooling cost. The author has presented a plethora of information related to the dimensional tolerances and tolerance limits of alloys in the form of various tables. Such information benefits a reader without any background in tooling. With a background in material science, I found the chapters on tooling informative.
Significantly, chapters about die-casting machines (Chapters 3, 7, 13, and 14) have a lot of information and would have required considerable time and effort if one were to search for them separately. Chapter 3 presents the operating principles of an accumulator, which might have otherwise sent a casual reader laboring for information in a crepuscule. Details about the various limit switches and their generic switching sequences undeniably reiterate the importance of practical knowledge penned down.
However, an attempt to condense the entire gamut of knowledge into a book has led to a cursory treatment of the various areas in die casting. Readers and material scientists at TMS with an inclination toward the theoretical framework of die casting, solidification principles, alloy selection, etc., might find this book lacking. A book on die casting by Edward J. Vinarcik, High Integrity Die-Casting Process [Published by Wiley in 2002] has chapters dealing with some of the emerging technologies in the die-casting industry. The coming of squeeze casting and semi-solid casting have provided inroads for the die-casting industry into high-integrity castings and hopefully these topics find mention in the next edition. Though the author has put forth ample pictures and figures, the lack of quality photographs and color make the reading a little dry.
In conclusion, the book by Bill Andresen is a 400-page rendition of all the practical knowledge and a collection of useful tips, earned throughout his illustrious career. This book is definitely a valuable asset for a novice in the die-casting industry, and those who would like to minimize their learning curve on the shop floor. For materials scientists, stick with your graduate-level textbooks to learn about alloy selection, solidification, and mathematical modeling. For the ones wanting to learn the various aspects of die casting in depth (quality control, defects, etc.), good books/software are available at the North American Die Casting Association web site.
For more on Die Casting Engineering: A Hydraulic, Thermal, and Mechanical Process, visit the Marcel Dekker web site. |
