Vision system speeds engine-block inspection
Ten smart cameras, off-the-shelf lighting, and software allow engine-block oil passages to be rapidly inspected.
In the automotive industry, lost-foam casting is often used for creating one or more copies of a three-dimensional engine block. In the lost-foam casting method, an expanded polystyrene replica of the part being cast is placed in a holder and loose sand is placed around it. Molten aluminum is poured through a funnel into the sand, where the hot metal melts and displaces the foam pattern. The molten metal evaporates to form the finished part. Unlike conventional sand-casting methods, the lost-foam process allows more complex and detailed passages and features to be cast directly into the part.