Weldment to Casting Conversion

Cost is always a driver for any manufacturer and as a weldment grows in complexity so does the cost of the finished component. With a cost effective casting, you can also use the process to your benefit. Where in a weldment you may be stuck with a certain sheet thickness because of a localized yield strength issue. In a casting you can locally thicken or thin as needed, giving you a stronger, lighter and cheaper part for the application.

The example below shows a row unit for a piece of seeding equipment. A casting design was proposed to replace the current weldment. FEA was used to compare the cast design to the welded design and the casting was optimized to reduce stress and weight of the component.