3D printing has eliminated much of the tedium of the 3,000-year-old sand casting process
Excerpt from the January 2014 Additive Manufacturing article by Peter Zelinski.
Hoosier Pattern has changed its business in a way that dramatically expands the design freedom available to its customers. Historically, the company has machined foundry patterns. Today, it uses 3D printing to create molds and cores directly from sand.
That's sand casting in a nutshell, although journeyman pattern maker Dave Rittmeyer will tell you there's far more to it than that. Rittmeyer, the customer care and additive manufacturing manager at Hoosier Pattern Inc., Decatur, Ind., also will tell you the industry has undergone a dramatic shift over the past decade or so, thanks in part to AM.
