Press Release
BMW Formula One Technology Cast in One Mold
Outstanding skill in sand-casting Manufacturing these two essential F1 engine components, BMW's casting specialists in Landshut have significantly enhanced and upgraded the sand-casting process going back several thousand years in the history of mankind. Sand-casting allows a particularly high standard of freedom in design, combined with superior flexibility in change management and short processing times. In this process liquid aluminum heated to a temperature of 750 ????????????????????C is poured into a complex sand mold made up as a negative form incorporating up to 50 different sand cores. Apart from treatment of the molten aluminum and precise control of the pouring rate and temperature during the casting process, the design, production and assembly of these sand cores are all crucial to the quality of the final casting product: The sand cores must properly render both the exterior shape and the subsequent open cavities of the engine component. And reflecting the compact, thin-walled structure of the BMW F1 power unit, the sand cores for the engine components are particularly delicate and refined in their design. The individual sand cores are put together to form the entire core package exclusively by hand: As if they were working on a three-dimensional - and very fragile - jigsaw puzzle, the casting specialists in Landshut put together the complete casting mold with utmost efficiency and precision, applying years of experience and using all their skill as craftsmen. Indeed, a new core package has to be made for each individual component, since the lost sand-casting mold has to be destroyed after each casting process in order to remove the ready-cast component.
Click photo for larger size Rapid prototyping: sand cores with all the speed of Formula One A new rapid prototyping technology developed especially for this application serves to speed up the process of building the sand cores. Referred to as selective laser sintering, this technology incorporating a computer-controlled laser beam allows the production of sand cores directly from the engine component's design and construction data, without having to use any molds or tools in the process. The foundry in Landshut uses this rapid prototyping technology also for building the sand cores required for prototype and test engines, helping to significantly shorten the testing period in the development of series production engines. Photo Captions:
Location: BMW Plant Landshut. Sand-casting Technology Center Top: Rapid prototyping technology: selective laser sintering of sand cores Bottom: selective laser sintering of sand cores
