Model of Diagnosing and Searching for Incompatibilities in Aluminium Castings.

Andrzej Pacana,Karolina Czerwińska

doi:10.3390/ma14216497

Abstract

An essential element of any industry is castings, which is determined by the technical conditions for their reception. However, conducting production in the foundry technology is burdened with many difficulties associated with, for example, the inability to control all of the parameters that may affect the casting quality. Therefore, it is essential to undertake improvement actions in this area. Efforts are being made to use non-destructive testing (NDT) as a part of quality control, but these methods are rarely combined in a single diagnostic run. As a part of quality improvement, it is also essential to identify the root cause of the problem. For this reason, it is justified to develop a model of diagnosing and searching for non-conformities, which would combine NDT tests and quality management tools. The model included the visual, ultrasound, and eddy current examination in the diagnostic part, and the Pareto–Lorenz diagram correlated with ABC method, histogram, and 5WHY method (asking five questions why). The study’s originality is manifested in the combination of several NDT methods with quality management methods in one model. Using integrally configured methods in the proposed model, it was possible to: reduce diagnostic uncertainty, characterize the critical group of non-conformities, and identify the root causes of the quality problem. The model is a new and universal method that can be implied in any foundry company in order to ensure the stability of the production processes. The application of the model contributes to an increase in the detection speed and enables the reduction of non-conformities in aluminium castings, thus increasing the quality level of the offered products.

Highlights

Published: 29 October 2021One of the most critical objectives of running a company is to make as much of a profit as possible, which depends mainly on the number of orders
Essential for each industry are castings, the quality of which is determined by the technical conditions for their reception
The model allows you to go beyond the area of passive control; the model integrates selected methods of non-destructive testing (NDT) detection, reducing the level of diagnostic uncertainty; the model enables quick flaw detection of aluminium castings; the model makes it possible to identify the root causes of a qualitative problem, thanks to which it is possible to propose practical corrective actions; the model enables the collection of information on quality inconsistencies specific for a given casting; the methods used are complementary; integrating a series of diagnostic tests and quality management tools in succession increases the level of effectiveness of analyses of the existing quality problems;

Summary

Introduction

One of the most critical objectives of running a company is to make as much of a profit as possible, which depends mainly on the number of orders. For each batch of products inspected, a test report should be drawn up following the guidelines in force in the given company, including essential information describing the identified non-compliances This type of model testing was used to diagnose internal, surface, and subsurface discontinuities in aluminium castings. The protocol (report) from eddy current defectoscopy should include: a description of the product, a description of the inspection objective, an object of testing, acceptance requirements, a description of the testing method and technique, a description of the apparatus and settings of the apparatus, a description of the standards used for testing, evaluation of the test results (including drawings of the transducer signal trajectories, if any, for the detected discontinuities), the length of discontinuities, and, possibly, characteristics of discontinuities and an evaluation of the object quality following the requirements [111]. The methodical action and stepwise framework proposed in the model allow for a systematic way to take into account the information collected and to obtain results as precise as the data suggest

Assumptions and Limitations of the Model

Model Verification and Results

Conclusions

Summary