Model-based cost estimates for selecting a die casting process

ABSTRACT

Semisolid die casting (SSDC) is a newly developed technology to improve the quality of products and to reduce the costs of liquid die casting process. We assessed the gas-induced semisolid process (GISS), which generates a semisolid metal for die casting, in this comparison of the costs per unit between a traditional liquid die casting process and the semisolid die casting process. A process-based costing model (PBCM) was created to estimate the production costs. In principle, the PBCM consists of three submodels: process model, operation model, and financial model. This study indicates that three main factors, namely cycle time, rate of waste, and die life, affected the unit production costs. The production cost estimates decreased by approximately 13% when the process was switched from a liquid to a semisolid one.

Acknowledgment

Special thanks to senior lecturer Wiwat Sutiwipakorn and Dr. Seppo Karrila for helpful comments and suggestions to improve this article.

Funding

This work was supported by the Higher Education Research Promotion and the National Research University Project of Thailand (Funding No. ENG 540551h), Office of the Higher Education Commission, Ministry of Education. Facilities and utilities were provided by the Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Prince of Songkla University, Thailand, which is also greatly appreciated.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Waroonporn Chienwichai

Waroonporn Chienwichai is a project engineer at Siam Michelin Company (HTY plant). She received her B.Eng. (industrial engineering) and M.Eng. (industrial and system engineering) from Prince of Songkla University.

Jessada Wannasin

Jessada Wannasin, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Prince of Songkla University in Thailand. He holds a Ph.D. degree in materials science and engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) under the supervision of Professor Merton C. Flemings. He is an inventor of the new slurry casting process called “GISS technology.” He has published more than 20 international journal papers and has one U.S. patent, two international patent applications, and five Thai patent and petty patent applications in the field of metal forming. He received the Thailand Young Outstanding Metallurgist Award in 2007, Thailand Young Technologist Award in 2009, and Thailand Outstanding Technologist Award in 2014.

Runchana Sinthavalai

Runchana Sinthavalai, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering at Prince of Songkla University, Thailand. She received her B.Eng. (industrial engineering) from Prince of Songkla University and Ph.D. from the University of Manchester, UK.

Napisphon Meemongkol

Napisphon Meemongkol, Ph.D., is an assistant professor and deputy head of the Department of Industrial Engineering at Prince of Songkla University, Thailand. She received her B.S. (industrial engineering) from Prince of Songkla University and M.Eng. (industrial engineering) from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. She holds a Ph.D. degree in metallurgical and materials engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT).