Digital casting framework design and its application for integrated foundry process system development

Current commercial Computer-Aided Design (CAD) systems are incapable of offering support for agile digital casting design. To address this gap, this study proposes a structured five-phase roadmap for developing and evaluating a new dedicated digital casting design system. The framework departs from conventional CAD paradigms by integrating three key components: (i) a unified modeling approach grounded in CAD ontology, (ii) a 3D Model–View–Controller (MVC) architectural framework, and (iii) a real-time rule-based verification and validation (V&V) model. These elements substantially enhance both development agility and operational reliability. Based on this roadmap, a prototype system, termed the Casting Intelligent Design System (CIDS), has been implemented. Application to sand casting demonstrates significant improvements in the process design efficiency, while its architecture also exhibits strong extensibility to other casting processes. This work establishes a theoretical foundation and offers practical guidance for the digital transformation and intelligent evolution of casting process design, consequently advancing technological progress in digital manufacturing.