Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

To: BipolarBob

Fenders and doors etc are close panels, which are bolted on.

These big die castings are going against the basic characteristic of aluminum which is 6-8 percent shrinkage on solidification.

Now that is a volume shrinkage but it is still 1.5-2 percent in every direction.

Well, for a 70 inch wide car, 1.5 percent is an inch of shrinkage. Now they design the foundry tooling and die caster for directional cooling etc. to try to minimize that.

But the shrinkage on solidification of aluminum has always limited the casting sizes, and created a lot of scrap because of casting porosity and core shift.


15 posted on 05/28/2024 1:39:21 PM PDT by Reverend Wright ( Everything touched by progressives, dies !)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies ]


To: Reverend Wright

Maybe that’s why Tesla is famous for panel alignment defects.


18 posted on 05/28/2024 1:41:48 PM PDT by who_would_fardels_bear (Kafka was an optimist.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson