Blog 6- Team G10



Blog 6


        After February 4th, the team switched to using a steel crucible instead of a crucible made of mortar. This decision was made after the mortar crucible failed and crumbled, the team believes the forge temperature was too hot for the mortar to withstand. The team decided to switch to a steel crucible as it only took a few hours to make compared to the seven days needed to cure a mortar crucible. This new development has also put the team back on schedule for the final prototype. The crucible was constructed from an old steel pipe and sheet metal welded together and is shown in Figure 1. The materials were provided by Boon’s employer, Welker Inc., who is now a sponsor for this project.


                                                                Figure 1. Steel crucible


        To test if the crucible could withstand the heat, a test pour using 0.75 kg of aluminum was performed resulting in the aluminum cast shown in Figures 2 and 3. The crucible survived the pour instilling confidence within the team to proceed with the casting of the prototype, which involves a larger quantity of aluminum (10 kg).


                                Figure 2. Molten aluminum inside the forge used for the test.


    Figure 3. Aluminum test cast.


        On February 18th, the team plans to cast the prototype, with machining scheduled to commence the following week. The goal is to complete the entire machining process by March 9th. Although there is a possibility of encountering setbacks during machining, such as the potential breakage of parts like fins, the team is optimistic that the need for recasting will be minimal. Our partnership with Welker Inc. includes access to their machining tools, significantly enhancing the likelihood of a successful machining process and reducing the risk of falling behind schedule.

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