E-Foundry: Online learning resources in casting design and simulation
E-Foundry (http://efoundry.iitb.ac.in) provides teachers, students and casting industry professionals free access to teaching content in casting design and simulation developed at IIT Bombay. Metal Casting Industry
India has become the 2nd largest producer of castings in the world, driven by the auto sector (growing at 35%), and other industry segments. In spite of this boom, acute dearth of skilled manpower is the biggest hurdle confronting the foundry industry, as per a recent annual report of the professional body, Institute of Indian Foundrymen. The Foundry Vision 2020 projects the minimum requirement as 20,000 workers and 2000 engineers. Original equipment manufacturers, tool rooms, equipment suppliers and quality agencies, as well as academic and research institutes involved in metal casting field also require technical manpower. The shortage is severe for people trained in automation and CAD/simulation technologies, which are needed for quality and yield improvement. There are hardly any academic institutes having the facilities and teachers to impart the relevant knowledge and training.
E-Foundry Resources:
The project aims to meet the technical manpower requirement of the metal casting industry, by freely providing the following resources online:
- Lesson videos, in five parts: introduction, science, engineering, technology, and application.
- Online simulation lab, which accepts a 3D CAD model and generates solidification images.
- Reference material, including paper abstracts, industrial case studies, casting videos, and web links.
- Tutorial with answers for self-evaluation.
User Benefits:
Several hundred users from India as well as other countries are accessing the site to view the lessons and simulate their casting models. The following benefits are reported:
- Teachers: Deliver more interesting lectures, engage students
- Students:Understand casting process, explore industry projects
- Industry: Gain better insights, ensure casting quality and yield