Experimental study of the filling of thin-walled investment castings in 17-4PH stainless steel Badania doświadczalne wypełniania form ceramicznych cienkościennych odlewów ze stali nierdzewnej 17-4PH

Global requirements of lower fuel consumption and fewer emissions are increasing the demand for decreasing the weight of cast components. Reducing the wall thickness of cast components is one way of achieving this. The aim of this work was to investigate castability of 17-4PH stainless steel in thin-walled test geometries (≤2 mm). The casting trials were performed to investigate fluidity as a function of casting temperature, mold preheat temperature, and filling systems in thin-walled sections. It was observed that fluidity in a top-gated configuration is strongly affected by casting temperatures; however, the effect of mold preheat temperature on fluidity was not significant. On the other hand, castings made in bottom-gated configuration were more stable, and fluidity was not significantly affected by variation in casting temperature and mold preheat temperature. Fewer porosity and flow-related defects were observed in the bottom-gated system as compared to the top-gated one.