Analysis of fused filament fabrication / fused deposiotion modelling applications for production of casting patterns used in sand casting

This paper presents an analysis of FFF/FDM (fused filament fabrication / fused deposiotion modeling) applications for production of casting patterns used in sand casting, with particular emphasis on short-run and prototype production.For this purpose, casting patterns of different shape and height of incremental layer (0.29 mm, 0.19 mm, 0.14 mm and 0.09 mm) were made of Z-ABS filament produced by Zortrax.Geometrical and dimensional analysis of the patterns was carried out, surface roughness parameters were measured, and a visual analysis of the surface was performed.In order to evaluate the conclusions observed based on the analysis of casting patterns, 130 102.5 37.5 mm sized shaped castings were designed and manufactured from aluminum and grey cast iron, which were also subjected to analysis.The last element of the research was a visual analysis of the reproduction of markings on the castings.