Mold Trial Run Procedure & Acceptance Standard for NEV Aluminum Casting Molds

Standard mold trial run process verifies mold structure, process window and part quality before mass production. Incomplete mold trial leads to hidden defects, and post mass-production modification cost rises by 3.6 times. This article defines Xinfeng mould 4-stage mold trial procedure, inspection items and acceptance criteria.

Stage 1: Dry mold test. No aluminum pouring. Check mold closing / opening, ejection action, cooling circuit leak test, vent and gating geometry, dimensional check of cavity inserts. Hydraulic leak test at 1.5× working pressure, hold pressure 30 minutes without leakage.

Stage 2: First shot trial, 5 consecutive castings. Observe filling condition, surface defects, flash, ejection performance. Sample for rough dimensional measurement, record melt temperature, mold temperature and pressure parameters.

Stage 3: Parameter window trial, adjust holding pressure, mold temperature and filling speed. Produce 12 consecutive qualified castings for radiographic inspection, CMM full dimension scan, tensile test and pressure tightness test.

Stage 4: Continuous run trial, 50 consecutive stable castings. Monitor defect rate, mold temperature stability, vent clogging trend and ejection reliability. Confirm takt time and mold maintenance cycle.

Acceptance dimensional tolerance: cavity dimension within drawing tolerance; core position error ≤0.14 mm; wall thickness variation ≤±0.40 mm.

X-ray acceptance standard: no shrinkage pores >0.15 mm on sealing and load-bearing areas; scattered micro pores below threshold allowed only on non-critical regions.

Pressure tightness test requirement: for fluid housing parts, hold test pressure for 150 seconds without leakage.

Mechanical property acceptance: T6 treated A356 casting tensile strength ≥260 MPa, elongation ≥6%.

Mold acceptance documents: CMM report, X-ray report, material test report, parameter sheet, mold maintenance manual, spare insert list.

Mold modification record fully documented after trial run. All adjusted cavity, cooling and gating changes saved in 3D model and 2D drawing for version control.

FAQ

Q1: How many stages are included in Xinfeng mould aluminum casting mold trial? A1: Four stages: dry mold test, first shot trial, parameter window trial and continuous run trial. Q2: What is the X-ray acceptance requirement for load-bearing aluminum castings? A2: No shrinkage pores larger than 0.15 mm on load-bearing and sealing surfaces. Q3: What documents are required for mold final acceptance? A3: CMM, X-ray, mechanical test reports, process parameters and mold maintenance files.