In: Mechanical Engineering
8. The chapter text describes various materials that have been used to produce casting patterns (i.e., the tooling that is used to produce molds), including Styrofoam, soft woods, hard woods, epoxylurethane polymers aluminum, and iron. For each of these materials, briefly discuss the pros and cons, considering such factors as number of castings to be produced, the size and shape of the casting, the desired precision of the cast product pattern cost, dimensional stability (both wear and environmental factors such as temperature and humidity) susceptibility to damage, ability to be repaired or refurbished, process limitations, and storage concerns