Reverse Engineering and Topology Optimization with 3D Sand Printing

ÖGI (The Austrian Foundry Institute) successfully demonstrated the potential of 3D sand printing, topology optimization, and direct cooling to replace a welded steel agricultural machine construction with a topology optimized casting within one week.

Österreichisches Gießerei-Institut (ÖGI), or the Austrian Foundry Institute, is an association of practical foundry research which focuses on castings in transport applications (automotive, rail, aerospace). Within the scope of the "Inno-Up" collaborative research project, ÖGI and its project partners (including ExOne) optimized a replacement casting for a welded steel assembly from a piece of agricultural equipment using innovative methods and technologies such as sand 3D printing, topology optimization, and direct cooling.

Discover in the case study how ÖGI and its project partners replaced the welded steel assembly within one week with a topology optimized cast part that is 36% lighter than the original component! 

“A combination of additive manufacturing and conventional casting technologies opens up new technological possibilities and offers potential for future optimization.”

Mirnes Berbic,

ÖGI (The Austrian Foundry Institute)