Abstract
Residual stress plays an important role in modern manufacturing, especially with the increasing change of manufacturing environment with mega-casting and additive manufacturing. Advanced manufacturing processes introduce several constraints, and one critical constraint to be predicted and controlled is residual stress, which could affect the geometrical quality during assembly. The stresses might lead to displacement and reduce the deviations of the final product. To ensure this, residual stresses are to be measured, predicted, and controlled throughout part manufacturing and assembly. In this paper, the impact of residual stress on geometrical deviation and variations is investigated through a case study: a small-scale cast bracket structure. A combined approach of casting simulation and variation simulation is applied to quantify the residual stress and to integrate, and identify the influence of residual stress during assembly in geometrical variations. The simulation results emphasize the role of residual stress in the deformations and the tolerances of the assembly and cast parts. This research demonstrates and also contributes methods for the integration of residual stress and geometry assurance to ensure more reliable assemblies in advanced manufacturing.