Shiva Tool Tech Achieves 80% Time Reduction in Die Design with Altair Inspire Cast

Shiva Tool Tech is an industrial powerhouse based in Pune, India, with a focus on automotive manufacturing. With over 25 years of experience in designing and manufacturing of gravity die casting (GDC), low-pressure die casting (LPDC), high-pressure die casting (HPDC) Dies, the company supports customers from manufacturing process design to the production stage. Manufacturing processes include milling, drilling, hardening, grinding, Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machining, Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM), inspection and polishing to get the final assembly of the casting die. The company designs and manufactures casting dies for automotive and non-automotive components like brackets, crankcase, housing, cylinder heads, compressor housings, manifolds, alloy wheels, etc.

Shiva Tool Tech, an automotive manufacturing company based in Pune, India, specializes in designing and manufacturing gravity die casting (GDC), low-pressure die casting (LPDC), and high-pressure die casting (HPDC) Dies. The company supports customers from the manufacturing process design to the production stage. However, the company faced challenges in obtaining a defect-free die design. The casting die designs were developed based on years of experience for components received from their customers in the form of computer-aided design (CAD) and engineering drafts. Once the die for the casting was designed, it was manufactured and assembled at their facility. The die was then sent to the customer for carrying out the physical casting trial. The cast part manufactured from the new dies was sent back to Shiva Tool Tech with an inspection report and defects identified. The die design was then modified to eliminate the defects. This entire process took about 3-4 physical iterations to get a defect-free die design. The company realized the value of simulation software in optimizing this design and manufacturing process to save time and money. However, outsourcing the simulations were expensive and time-consuming.

To overcome the challenges, Shiva Tool Tech decided to bring the expertise in-house by investing in simulation software. They chose Altair’s casting simulation software Inspire Cast which met their requirements for ease of use, accuracy of results, speed of computational analysis, rich visualization of results while remaining within budget considerations. The updated process at Shiva Tool Tech now involves Inspire Cast in two phases. On receiving the CAD of the casting part, the model is taken to Inspire Cast for running simulations with a virtual gating system on the part. Once the gating location is fixed based on the desired simulation results, the shot model for the component is designed in CAD. The shot model is then taken to Inspire Cast for carrying out the detailed casting simulation to understand the occurring defects. The methodology is modified to reduce or eliminate defects by changing the gate size, shape and with additions of risers and chillers.

• The implementation of Altair’s casting simulation software Inspire Cast has significantly improved the efficiency of Shiva Tool Tech's die design process. The software's ease of use, accuracy of results, speed of computational analysis, and rich visualization of results have enabled the company to optimize its design and manufacturing process, saving both time and money. The software has also allowed the company to understand and address defects in the casting process, leading to a higher quality of final product. The use of Inspire Cast has reduced the need for physical iterations, resulting in a faster and more efficient process. The company can now finalize the methodology of a project in just 2 days, with each simulation iteration taking about 45 minutes. This has led to an 80% time reduction in the die design process, significantly enhancing the company's productivity and operational efficiency.

• 80% time reduction in the die design process
• 3 iterations were carried on Inspire Cast to finalize the methodology of the pump housing
• It took 2 days altogether to finalize the methodology