Patent Application
20200147680
Passing cables through metal castings typically requires an additional mechanism or post-machining operations and assembly after forming the metal casting. The high temperatures required to cast metal has prevented cables from being embedded into metal for grounding, shielding, or communication. This has instead been accomplished with gasketing and physical contact.
According to an embodiment, an article of manufacture containing thermally-resistant flexible cabling is disclosed. The thermally-resistant flexible cabling is embedded within a metal casting during die-casting.
According to another embodiment, a die-casting process includes fixing a thermally-resistant flexible cabling within a die. After fixing the thermally-resistant flexible cabling within the die, the process includes die-casting an alloy to form a metal casting having a thermally-resistant flexible cabling embedded within the metal casting.
According to yet another embodiment, a process includes embedding a thermally-resistant flexible cabling within a metal casting during die-casting. The process includes utilizing the thermally-resistant flexible cabling for grounding of the metal casting.
The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular descriptions of exemplary embodiments of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numbers generally represent like parts of exemplary embodiments of the invention.
The present disclosure describes the utilization of thermally-resistant flexible cabling to embed cabling into or through metal castings for purposes of grounding the cast part or passing signals through the casting. In the present disclosure, thermally-resistant flexible cabling that is capable of withstanding the casting temperature of certain materials, such as various zinc aluminum (ZA) alloys (also commonly referred to as “zamak” materials), enables the cables to be embedded into a metal casting for grounding, shielding, or communication. Other materials or alloys may be used. In a particular embodiment, the thermally-resistant flexible cabling of the present disclosure may be able to withstand temperatures in the 450 to 500° C. range for brief exposure, above the temperatures required to die-cast a variety of ZA alloys. Such cabling may include, for example, DuPont™ Pyralus® HT (heat resistant flexible cable).
Zamak is a family of alloys with a base metal of zinc and alloying elements of aluminum, magnesium, and copper. Zamak alloys are most commonly die-cast. To illustrate, zamak 3 has the base composition for the zamak alloys (96% zinc; 4% aluminum), with a solidification range (melting range) of 381-387° C. Zamak 5 has the same composition as zamak 3 with the addition of 1% copper in order to increase strength, hardness, and corrosive resistance, with a solidification range (melting range) of 380-386° C. Zamak 7 has less magnesium than zamak 3 in order to increase fluidity and ductility, with a solidification range (melting range) of 381-387° C. Zamak 2 has the same composition as zamak 3 with the addition of 3% copper in order to increase strength, with a solidification range (melting range) of 379-390° C. It will be appreciated that a variety of other ZA alloys may be suitable for the flexible cabling embedding operations described herein.
The cables may be passed through the metal castings without an additional mechanism or post-machining operations or assembly after forming the metal casting. Specifically, because the thermally-resistant flexible cabling is embedded within a metal casting during die-casting, no additional mechanism, post-machining operations, or assembly after forming the metal casting is necessary. Further, embedding a cable through the casting occupies a smaller amount of space than methods that utilize the post machining. Additionally, by embedding the thermally-resistant flexible cabling within the metal casting during die-casting, communications through the cast material may be transmitted at high-speed and with high-density.
When the metal casting is screwed onto a planar, the individual screw posts 102 align with copper pads on the printed circuit board that are electrically connected to a grounding layer on the printed circuit board. In the prior art design depicted in
Referring to
The process 300 includes fixing a thermally-resistant flexible cabling within a die, at 302. For example, in the embodiment depicted in
In the case of zamak 3 with a melting range of 381-387° C., the thermally-resistant flexible cabling has sufficient high-temperature tolerance to withstand a die-casting temperature of at least 381° C. In the case of zamak 5 with a melting range of 380-386° C., the thermally-resistant flexible cabling has sufficient high-temperature tolerance to withstand a die-casting temperature of at least 380° C. In the case of zamak 7 with a melting range of 381-387° C., the thermally-resistant flexible cabling has sufficient high-temperature tolerance to withstand a die-casting temperature of at least 381° C. In the case of zamak 2 with a melting range of 379-390° C., the thermally-resistant flexible cabling has sufficient high-temperature tolerance to withstand a die-casting temperature of at least 379° C.
In the particular embodiment depicted in
It will be understood from the foregoing description that modifications and changes may be made in various embodiments of the present invention. The descriptions in this specification are for purposes of illustration only and are not to be construed in a limiting sense. The scope of the present invention is limited only by the language of the following claims.
