A method for making internal passages for use in investment casting processes, especially for gas turbine components such as blades or vanes. The apparatus includes a first mold cavity having grooves formed therein, a second mold cavity having a shape complementary to the final casting design and ceramic cores. Each groove of the first mold cavity has a depth equal to a radius of a certain number of ceramic cores which correspond to cooling channels. The ceramic cores are placed in the first mold cavity and fugitive wax is injected for temporary positioning of the cores. Two fugitive wax segments are formed about the cores. The fugitive segments locate the ceramic cores in the second mold cavity, and wax is injected about the cores and locating segments to form a pattern for investment casting process.

A method for making a cooled component for a turbine engine includes casting an airfoil assembly having an airfoil with an airfoil cooling passage and extending from a platform with at least one platform cooling passage, and forming a connecting passage between the airfoil cooling air passage and the platform cooling air passage.

A method of forming a component having an internal passage defined therein includes positioning a jacketed core with respect to a mold. The jacketed core includes a hollow structure formed from a first material, and an inner core formed from an inner core material disposed within the hollow structure. The method also includes introducing a component material in a molten state into a cavity of the mold, such that the component material in the molten state at least partially absorbs the first material from a portion of the jacketed core within the cavity. The method further includes cooling the component material in the cavity to form the component, and removing the inner core material from the component to form the internal passage.

A coupler having a support provided through the body of the coupler and a plurality of openings in the coupler which are configured as open cavities. The coupler structure includes a shank that has a vertical support as well as lateral support. The coupler may be configured with a double I-beam structure with openings into the shank. Cores that may be fixed to the mold may be used to form the coupler and produce the openings in the shank.

For forming a shell mould for investment casting, first and second core components are provided. These are formed of ceramic material. The core components are assembled together for manufacturing a wax pattern containing the core component for formation of a shell mould for investment casting. The core components have an arrangement of precursor location features. The method includes machining at least one of the precursor location features to a required shape to provide an arrangement of final location features. The core components are then positioned with respect to each other and/or with respect to a wax pattern die by contacting the arrangement of final location features with corresponding positioning features of a receiving device and/or the wax pattern die.

A multi-cylinder head casting device includes a casting mold and a port core. The casting mold includes dies that define a cavity corresponding to an outer shape of a cylinder head. The port core includes body parts for forming the ports, and a base part connecting the body parts. A lower die has intake and exhaust hole formation surfaces on the combustion chamber side of the port, and a port core support surface corresponding to the mounting surface of the cylinder head. Side dies have a port core pressing surface that faces the port core support surface. The port core is supported inside the cavity by distal ends of the body parts contacting the air intake and exhaust hole formation surfaces. A lower surface of the base part contacts the port core support surface, and an upper surface of the base part contacts the port core pressing surface.

A method of forming a component having an internal passage defined therein is provided. The method includes positioning a jacketed core with respect to a mold. The jacketed core includes a hollow structure formed at least partially by an additive manufacturing process, and an inner core disposed within the hollow structure. The method also includes introducing a component material in a molten state into a cavity of the mold, and cooling the component material in the cavity to form the component. The inner core is positioned to define the internal passage within the component.

A manufacturing method for a metallic housing of an electronic device is provided. The method includes providing a die-casting mold including a male die and a female die; positioning an outer frame in a cavity of the female die, the outer frame including a plurality of latching portions protruding from an inner surface inwardly and a plurality of latching grooves, each latching portion including at least one receiving groove; assembling the male die to the female die; casting pressured molten metal-alloy into the cavity to form an inner structural member embedded in the outer frame, the inner structural member including a plurality of engaging portions respectively embedded in the plurality of receiving grooves, and a plurality of matching portions respectively embedded in the plurality of latching grooves; dissembling the male die from the female die; and removing the outer frame and the inner structural member from the female die.

An exemplary casting assembly for an engine block includes, among other things, an insert and at least one magnet configured to retain the insert in a predefined position within an engine block mold cavity. An exemplary engine block casting method includes, among other things, positioning at least one insert in a mold cavity, retaining the insert in position with at least one magnet, introducing material into the mold cavity to form an engine block, and solidifying the material to secure the insert within the engine block.

A method of forming an airfoil (12), including: abutting end faces (72) of cantilevered film hole protrusions (64) extending from a ceramic core (50) against an inner surface (80) of a wax die (68) to hold the ceramic core in a fixed positional relationship with the wax die; casting an airfoil including a superalloy around the ceramic core; and machining film cooling holes (34) in the airfoil after the casting step to form an pattern of film cooling holes comprising the film cooling holes formed by the machining step and the cast film cooling holes (102) formed by the film hole protrusions during the casting step.