CASTING SYSTEM FOR INVESTMENT CASTING PROCESS
An investment casting system includes a core having at least one fine detail, a shell positioned relative to said core, and a strengthening coating applied at least to the at least one fine detail.
1 . An investment casting system comprising:
a core having at least one fine detail;
a shell positioned relative to said core; and
a strengthening coating applied at least to said at least one fine detail.
2 . The investment casting system of claim 1 , wherein said strengthening coating is applied to an entirety of said core.
3 . The investment casting system of claim 1 , wherein said strengthening coating is applied to at least a portion of said shell.
4 . The investment casting system of claim 1 , wherein said core comprises at least two distinct core components and wherein said strengthening coating maintains a relative position of the at least two distinct cores.
5 . The investment casting system of claim 1 , wherein said strengthening coating is a non-reactive material.
6 . The investment casting system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one fine detail includes a negative space of at least one film cooling hole.
7 . The investment casting system of claim 1 , wherein the core includes at least one additively manufactured component.
8 . The investment casting system of claim 7 , wherein an exterior surface roughness of the strengthening coating is less than a surface roughness of the core.
9 . The investment casting system of claim 1 , wherein the core is an investment casting core of at least one of an airfoil, a blade outer air seal (BOAS), and a combustor liner.
10 . The investment casting system of claim 1 , wherein the strengthening coating is at least one of a metal oxide, a nitride, a carbide and a silicide coating.
11 . The investment coating system of claim 1 , wherein the strengthening coating is one of a vapor deposition coating and a spray coating.
12 . A method of providing a casting system for an investment casting process comprising the step of:
coating at least a fine detail of a core for use in the investment casting process using a strengthening coating.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein coating at least a fine detail of a core comprises coating an entire exterior surface of the core with the strengthening coating.
14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the core includes multiple components, and wherein the strengthening coating maintains a relative position of the multiple components.
15 . The method of claim 12 , wherein coating at least a fine detail of the core further comprises smoothing an additively manufactured surface of the core using the strengthening coating.
16 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the step of coating at least the fine detail of the core for use in a strengthening coating is preformed using a vapor deposition process.
17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the vapor deposition process applies a coating to at least a portion of a shell simultaneous with application of the coating to the at least one fine detail of the core.
18 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising a step of finishing a cast component by removing at least one artifact of a vapor deposition port in said shell.
19 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the step of coating at least the fine detail of the core for use in a strengthening coating is preformed using a spray coating process.
20 . The method of claim 12 , wherein coating at least the fine detail of the core includes the coating at least partially infiltrating the core material.