Investigation into the density of polystyrene foam models when implementing the resource-saving fabrication technology of thin-wall aluminum sheet

The influence of density of polystyrene foam models on the quality of thin-wall casts of the cap of the gas analyzer case made of AK7 alloy smelted based on wastes of home manufacture (the charge contained 50-55% secondary materials) is investigated in conditions of OOO Research-and-Production Enterprise Vektor Mashinostroeniya (Novokuznetsk). To foam polystyrene (produced by STYROCHEM, Montreal, Canada) and fabricate the models, a GK-100-3M autoclave is used. Varying temporal-and-time autoclave modes, we acquire different densities of the model rho = 0.017, 0.019, 0.022, 0.024, and 0.026 g/cm(3). Based on the experimental investigations, the values of this index (rho = 0.022-0.024 g/cm(3)) at which the model possesses the required surface quality, rigidity, and burnability promoting the minimization of linear defects (mismatch with required geometric sizes, seal, misrun) when fabricating thin-wall casts with specified properties are determined and substantiated.