Reduction of Oxide Inclusions in Aluminum Cylinder Heads Through Autonomous Design of Experiments

Oxide inclusions, created during the pouring process of aluminum alloys, are contributors to leak defects in aluminum castings. The utilization of advanced software technology allowed for an autonomous Design of Experiments (autonomous DOE) to be carried out, which provided the basis for the evaluation and subsequent optimization of process parameters and geometry in the melt transport, pouring process and gating layout for aluminum cylinder heads. The main focus of this paper will focus on how autonomous DOEs lead to optimized gating designs and process parameters on aluminum cylinder heads resulting in a significant reduction of oxides in castings.