This was one of the final projects I completed during my second semester in the Digital Design Graphics Technology (DDGT) program. The assignment, titled the Reverse Engineered Casting Project, was completed entirely in AutoCAD and combined several of the concepts and skills I had developed throughout the program.

During my first semester, I was given a 3D-printed component and tasked with measuring its features in order to create a complete working drawing based solely on the physical part. In this second-semester project, I was again provided with a 3D-printed component, but with an additional challenge: designing a casting pattern for the part as well.

As the semester progressed, our coursework expanded into manufacturing processes such as metal casting and pattern design. This project required not only reverse engineering the finished component, but also understanding the manufacturing considerations necessary to produce it from raw cast material.

On the left image, you will see the cover page of my working drawing package, which includes both a front view and a half-section view of the component at a 1:1 scale. In the middle image, the detail drawing contains a phantom outline surrounding the finished part geometry. This outline represents the casting in its as-poured state. Because cast components shrink as they cool, additional material must be incorporated into the mold design to ensure the final machined dimensions can be achieved accurately after machining operations are completed. On the right is the completed casting pattern used to create the mold cavity. You will notice that several finished features are intentionally absent from the pattern itself. These surfaces and details would later be machined after the casting process in order to bring the final component to its required specifications. Feel free to click on the images for a better view.