Green Sand Metalcasting Foundry News

• This article looks at the characteristics metalcasters should be looking for in their sand systems.

• Explained within is the role additives play in creating ideal molding sand characteristics.

For many metalcasters, there is no substitute for the smooth and silky feel of perfect green sand conditioning. While there have been many improvements in sand conditioning practices to achieve this feel, tests designed to determine ideal sand characteristics remain subjective, causing foundries to rely somewhat on guesswork.

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Tags: Metal Casting, Green Sand Casting Products, Green Sand Foundry Supply, Foundry Supply, Green Sand Release Agents, Metal Casting Supplies, Foundry Supplies, Green Sand Metal Casting, Green Sand System, Green Sand Metalcasting, Foundry Core Coating

Corosil (Silicate Products) - Application to Aluminum Castings Sodium Silicate based products are one of the most environmentally friendly products that can be used in a core room.

The Indianapolis Manufacturing Facility has an excellent product line of Sodium Silicate Binders (Corosil and COBond). There have always been problems associated with the application of sodium silicate binders. The principal problem is in their inability to "shakeout" of a casting. The term "shakeout" applies to the ability or inability to remove the bonded sand from the solidified casting. As everyone would appreciate, if a foundry cannot remove the sand from the casting easily their costs of producing the casting would increase. In comparison, the less environmentally friendly processes do not have the severe difficulty of "shakeout".

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Tags: Metal Casting, Green Sand Casting Products, Green Sand Foundry Supply, Foundry Supply, Green Sand Release Agents, Metal Casting Supplies, Foundry Supplies, Green Sand Metal Casting, Green Sand System, Green Sand Metalcasting, Core Binders, Foundry Core Coating, Core Adhesive

It is extremely important to select the correct adhesive to receive the maximum efficiency out of the selected product.

There are a number of adhesive applications that must be considered. A shell core may employ an adhesive immediately after the core is removed from the box (the core will be extremely hot and this is not the preferred time to apply an adhesive), the core may be "warm to the touch" and when the core is sufficiently cool. It is important to realize that there is not a single adhesive for all of these applications.

When a shell core is extremely hot it is very difficult to apply an adhesive that will create a sufficient bond to maintain the strength at the joint of the core. The only adhesive that will meet this application is a water based core adhesive that is designed for "thermal curing" (oven curing). The product that we recommend for this application is Red Chief. However, it very important to realize that this is not the best application time for any core adhesive.

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Tags: Metal Casting, Green Sand Casting Products, Green Sand Foundry Supply, Foundry Supply, Green Sand Release Agents, Metal Casting Supplies, Foundry Supplies, Green Sand Metal Casting, Green Sand System, Green Sand Metalcasting, Core Binders, Foundry Core Coating, Core Adhesive

Effects of Chemical Surfactants on Clay-Bonded, Green Sand Foundry Sand Control Systems

A 1-1/2 year research project by several companies lends help to understanding the role of chemical surfactants to the industry

AFS Foundry Sand Additives Committee (4-H) 

Searching for the most direct method to determine the effect of chemical surfactants (wetting agents) on clay-bonded systems, member companies of AFS Committee 4-H decided a series of L-8 orthogonal arrays would be the ideal technique.

Once the orthogonal array was se­lected, the variables and levels were determined (Table 1).

During the laboratory experimental evaluations, a series of chemical surfactants was evaluated. These surfactants were selected from products used in the foundry industry.

Prepared sand mixtures were com­pleted in a research environment A testing laboratory muller with a 20-lb capacity was employed. The sand mix­ture was consistently prepared by mulling a four-screen silica sand for 10 min­utes with 7% bentonite. A total of 60 L-8 designed experiments were completed during the evaluation phase.

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Tags: Metal Casting, Green Sand Casting Products, Green Sand Foundry Supply, Foundry Supply, Green Sand Release Agents, Metal Casting Supplies, Foundry Supplies, Green Sand Metal Casting, Green Sand System, Green Sand Metalcasting, Foundry Core Coating, Vein reduction

Reducing Surface Defects With Proper Vein Reduction

While green sand foundry vein reduction compounds can lead to improvements in iron castings — such as reduction in metal penetration and core erosion — they can result in varying degrees of tensile property reduction.

As casting surface quality becomes increasingly important to end-users, foundries have to find new and effective methods of eliminating surface defects in iron castings.

One method — vein reduction compounds — is used primarily to reduce or eliminate expansion defects, which show up as “veins” on the surface of the casting. Foundries have achieved reductions in expansion defects and imprints in casting quality with mixtures of 90% prepared sand and 10% vein compounds.

However, the key to vein reduction compound use is to be careful when adding the compounds into core sand mixtures, as they can result in varying degrees of reduction in mold tensile properties. This reduction is due primarily to the composition of the materials and the sizing.

This article will take a look at the process of vein reduction and what casting surface quality improvements can result.

Fig. 1. The middle location on this test casting was made with a phenolic urethane binder without the addition of a vein reduction compound. The locations at the left and right both used vein reduction compounds.

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Tags: Metal Casting, Green Sand Casting Products, Green Sand Foundry Supply, Foundry Supply, Green Sand Release Agents, Metal Casting Supplies, Foundry Supplies, Green Sand Metalcasting Foundry, Green Sand Metal Casting, Green Sand System, Green Sand Metalcasting, Foundry Core Coating, Vein reduction, metalcasting

• This article looks at the characteristics metalcasters should be looking for in their sand systems.

• Explained within is the role additives play in creating ideal molding sand characteristics.

For many metalcasters, there is no substitute for the smooth and silky feel of perfect green sand conditioning. While there have been many improvements in sand conditioning practices to achieve this feel, tests designed to determine ideal sand characteristics remain sub-jective, causing foundries to rely somewhat on guesswork.

Read More

Tags: Metal Casting, Green Sand Casting Products, Green Sand Foundry Supply, Foundry Supply, Green Sand Release Agents, Metal Casting Supplies, Foundry Supplies, Green Sand Metal Casting, Green Sand System, Green Sand Metalcasting, Foundry Core Coating

• This article explores the feasibility of using a predominantly Western Bentonite preblend in place of the traditional Southern and Western Bentonite binder makeup.

• By using a Western Bentonite - dominated binder, overall bond usage by a foundry can be reduced with an increase in mold hardness.

• Some of the questions a foundry would ask about converting to this Western - dominated binder are answered to provide practical guidance to foundries considering a switch.

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Tags: Metal Casting, Green Sand Casting Products, Green Sand Foundry Supply, Foundry Supply, Green Sand Release Agents, Metal Casting Supplies, Foundry Supplies, Green Sand Metal Casting, Green Sand System, Green Sand Metalcasting, Core Binders, Foundry Core Coating

MODERN CASTING Magazine Webinar, "Combining Cores With 3-D Printing--Pay Now or Pay Later."

"Combining four individual cores into a single piece can have a huge impact on downstream costs. It is often difficult to determine what “not having” 3-D printing can cost. In this webinar, a metalcaster will share a real world example of how progressive thinking can save money downstream. 

Since 1936, Prospect Foundry has been a market leading supplier of complex cored gray and ductile iron castings in low to medium volumes. It combines modern casting technologies, engineering expertise and a focus on craftsmanship to produce high quality, complex pressure tight, porosity free castings. Prospect Foundry castings have been used by major OEM customers in the construction, mining, agricultural equipment and industrial markets."

Here's a transcript of the presentation that includes comments on foundry core coating application, pastes, patches and washes. Enjoy!

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Tags: Metal Casting, Green Sand Casting Products, Green Sand Foundry Supply, Foundry Supply, Green Sand Release Agents, Metal Casting Supplies, Foundry Supplies, Green Sand Metal Casting, Green Sand System, Green Sand Metalcasting, Core Binders, Foundry Core Coating