Camden Bowen tried casting to reduce material waste in the production of parts from billet aluminum. He built his own furnace using cement, perlite and a propane burner; he melted aluminum alloy wheels suitable for casting and turned them into ingots.
For the engine parts, he used the lost PLA method, which involves embedding a 3D-printed PLA model in plaster and melting it away. He prepared a heat-resistant mold by mixing plaster of Paris with sand. After a process of trial and error and problems with completely burning away the PLA, he managed to cast a usable engine cylinder containing several defects.
Why it matters
This work demonstrates a different manufacturing approach based on repurposing the available alloy instead of using billet aluminum directly for engine parts. The fact that he prepared his own furnace and mold shows that the method can be tested without large-scale equipment, while also demonstrating that success in the process depends on details in material selection and mold preparation. The trial-and-error process and the inability to completely burn away the PLA show that this approach is not limited to design and 3D printing; it also requires additional technical control for casting quality. The usable but flawed cylinder demonstrates the method’s potential for prototype production, while leaving open the question of whether the part would operate reliably inside an engine.