Author: moxy

ADC is The Newest Representative of WinCast Expert in The US

Permanent Die Casting

• CAD Geometry
• Temperature Field
• Filling Velocity
• Stress
• Deformation
• Hot Spot
• Tensile Strength
• Elongation
• Yield Strength
• Defects (ASTM)

Sand Casting

• The total riser and gating system, filter and core are the part of the model
• Precise physical data for exothermic materials are available
• Graphite expansion and precise defect prediction are typical requirements
• Validation with experiments is fundamental for good simulation results

High Pressure Die Casting

• CAD Data
• FEM Model
• Mold Filling
• Solidification
• Residual Stress
• Cycle Calculation

The simulation of solidification is the base for the prediction of porosities, residual stress and deformation.  Several cycles are calculated to draw near the steady state.

Low Pressure Die Casting

• Process Optimization
• Mechanical Properties
• Cooling Calculation
• Defect Calculation
• Pressure-time Input
• Dendrite Arm Spacing

Investment Casting

Precise geometry with high level of detail is the reason for real success.
Optimized riser and gating system leads to a minimal deformed part.  Simulation of temperature, solidification, stress and deformation are the keys to reach optimum.

Continuous Casting

The thermal and mechanical equations are coupled.  Thus the material flow and the shrinkage of the billet can be determined as well as the gap formation and gap dependent heat transfer.

• Primary and secondary cooling
• Material and heat transport
• Pull (and push) conditions
• Contact between strand and graphite chill
• Contact between graphite and copper chill
• Heat transport within cooling lines

Heat Treatment

The changing residual stresses while heat treatment can be calculated in order to optimize the oven curve to reduce deformation.

Stress/Distortion/Lifetime

High differences in temperature during a high pressure die casting cycle and enormous pressure peaks are the reasons for local cracking in the die and reduce the lifetime significantly.

Evaluation of Mechanical Properties

Complex thin-walled aluminum casting.

Stress and Crack Investigation

Fast. Precise. Easy to Handle.

“iFit Prosthetics is an extraordinary ADC client. We have worked with Tim and the iFit Prosthetics team since their product’s inception and found them to be receptive and enthusiastic to utilize and embrace ADC’s full suite of capabilities including: 3D Scanning, Finite Element Analysis (FEA), 3D Printing, and more recently, topology optimization. They understand the engineering principles required to design and manufacture an adjustable prosthetic device.” – Jim Marchalek, ADC

ADC was featured in ScienceDirect for their design of iFit Prosthetics. Click here to read more.

Dr. Dillingham served in the U.S. Army during the Persian Gulf War and served as an investigator for the National Institute for Health (NIH) studying the needs of patients with limb loss. He was amazed by the time and effort required to make a hard socket fit a changing limb. He was inspired to expand the options available to lower limb amputees.

“The design characteristics – adjustability and immediate fit – can potentially enhance access and availability to prosthetic services for many patients. I am grateful for Jim Marschalek’s engineering leadership and the entire ADC team for our partnership in developing the iFit Prosthetics’ product line.”

– Timothy R. Dillingham, M.D., M.S., President, iFIT Prosthetics, LLC

 

Using his engineering, industrial, and manufacturing background as well as his medical expertise, Dr. Dillingham developed a prosthetic that would better adjust to the individualized needs of patients. He turned to Advanced Design Concepts to provide critical engineering support from the beginning of the product development cycle. ADC’s engineering and manufacturing teams, led by Jim Marschalek, have collaborated with Dr. Dilingham to develop and manufacture this innovative, adjustable, affordable lower limb prosthetic. iFit Prosthetics is officially in the life-changing business, improving the quality of life for patients.

 

Diana recently discovered iFit Prosthetics. She faced tremendous challenges finding the right fit for her prosthetic need. According to Diana, “The iFit Prosthetics socket system has given me hope. I have a VERY challenging limb and the adjustable iFit Prosthetic was the one that worked for me when the others have only brought me disappointment. I was on the brink of surgery to have an above knee amputation due to the tremendous pain of other sockets. With my iFit Prosthetic I have resumed my normal life without surgery. Thank you for changing my life and eliminating the pain.” Diana’s is one of many success stories the team at iFit Prosthetics hears from patients.

 

Advanced Design Concepts is proud to have supported the iFit Prosthetic product development cycle since its infancy. Our engineers collaborated with Dr. Dillingham to design, refine, develop prototypes and prosthetic limb, resulting in the current lower limb prosthetic on the market today. Not only have we helped in the development stage, we are also manufacturing elements of the device. All of the strong plastic component parts are injection molded at ADC and assembled at our facility in Pewaukee, Wisconsin. iFit Prosthetics intentionally sources any component not manufactured at ADC using U.S.-based vendor companies.

“ADC has responded with lightning speed as iFit Prosthetics has worked to improve the devices accessibility to patient needs” remarked Dr. Dillingham.

 

SpeedKore Performance Group is a Wisconsin-based company specializing in the construction of custom cars; as well as designing and manufacturing carbon fiber parts. They manufacture high-performance vehicles from scratch following their signature recipe: reduced weight and increased horsepower.

Advanced Design Concepts is extremely proud to have supported SpeedKore in their design process from scanning entire cars to individual pieces such as bumpers, spoilers, engines, transmissions, and interior parts. 3D scanning and reverse engineering technology enable the ADC designers and engineers to scan any custom vehicle or part produced by SpeedKore ultimately resulting in a 3D model of the physical part. 3D digitizing converts physical objects to 3D CAD files to refine designs that enable manufacturing, 3D printing, and inspection.

To date, one of the most noteworthy vehicles to be conceived by the designers at SpeedKore is the 1970 Dodge Charger, “Evolution.” With a full carbon fiber body and a 966 horsepower Dodge Demon engine, the vehicle has not only won the esteemed Goodguys Gold Award but has also made several appearances in television shows and blockbuster movies.

In addition to the success of Evolution, the 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302 created for revered actor Robert Downey Jr. was awarded the Ford Design Award for Best Heritage Vehicle in 2017. With such prestigious clientele and a reputation of exceeding customer expectations, SpeedKore is tasked with continuing to stand by their company promise of reducing weight and increasing horsepower; while constructing a truly unique vehicle fit for a superhero.

Being in the business of creating custom vehicles, SpeedKore enlisted the help of ADC to aid them in designing molds for carbon fiber body panels, engine covers, and much more. We provide SpeedKore, and every client of ours, with the highest quality of products with the aid of our GOM ATOS Triple Scan 3D scanner. Additionally, ADC has a variety of scanners at our disposal which allow us to get into the tight areas of engine bays as well as the interior of cars.

One-of-a-kind custom cars and parts are in safe hands here at ADC during the scanning process as easily removable target point stickers are applied with no damage to the vehicle. At times a developer powder may be used on shiny or reflective surfaces which can effortlessly be washed off leaving your part exactly as it was prior to scanning.

At ADC, we are flexible and understanding of the needs of our customers and have the ability to receive customer parts to be scanned in-house, or we can travel to you, transporting the 3D scanning equipment directly to the location of our customer’s parts. Our ability to travel directly to the location of our customers is not only advantageous when the part is large but is also convenient for fragile, confidential or time-sensitive parts. We recently traveled to SpeedKore’s facility to scan the exterior of a car, engine bay, bumpers, and spoiler.

Using the ATOS Triple Scan and the Faro Scan Edge Arm, ADC’s scanning team successfully completed all required scanning in a day and a half. The result: physical car to point cloud data. After scanning a car we can provide customers with the raw scan data as an .stl file or an .igs or .stp CAD model.

Dependent upon the scope of the project, ADC may be able to provide the .stl file to SpeedKore right onsite. For particularly extensive projects, a trip to ADC’s office may be necessary to clean up data and align to a world coordinate system before providing files. ADC’s turnaround process is relatively quick, typically scan data can be converted to a CAD model within 1-5 days. Allow our team at ADC the pleasure of assisting you in bringing your project into a 3D reality.

Celebrating customer success stories

SportingSmiles is changing the world one smile at a time. ADC’s design engineers helped Evan McCarthy, the SportingSmiles CEO, to design and manufacture a patented adjustable impression dental tray. According to McCarthy, “We wanted to develop a process that created one-of-a-kind dental products that would be available at a more reasonable price, while still maintaining lab quality. Our self-impression kit allows for new or replacement dental guards to be created directly at our dental facilities, therefore bypassing additional fees that have been associated with custom guards in the past.”

The Dual Arch Adjustable Dental Impression Tray was awarded patent #8,360,772. SportingSmiles specializes in smile retention and enhancement with a wide array of products to alleviate joint pain and prevent injury. Products are available via the SportingSmiles website or Amazon.

In middle school, McCarthy was accidentally hit with a wayward baseball bat during gym class. The result: he lost four front teeth, but the accident led to today’s successful business. After the accident, McCarthy took care to wear mouth guards when playing sports but he found that over-the-counter guards were “uncomfortable and boring.” McCarthy asked his father, a dentist, to teach him how to make custom guards and began producing some with different colors, patterns, and graphics, drawing interest from family and friends. Sporting Smiles is in the smile retention business with a wide array of injury prevention and smile enhancement products and celebrating 10 years in business. Fun to see them in the news this recently!

Custom sports mouth guards designed for MMA, Jiu-jitsu, football, basketball, hockey, and other contact sports.

At ADC we preserve client confidentiality. All the information and photos shared in this blog, are shared with permission.