Sand Casting Advantages
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| Sand Casting Advantages |
What are the advantages of sand casting?
- Low tooling cost- In the sand casting process moulds are made from sand that is cheap compared to other moulds that are made from metal in die casting, vacuum die casting process and ceramic in investment casting.
- The runner, gate and riser broken/cut out can be remelted/reused again in the furnace improving the casting yield obtained is less than 55%.
- The process is best suited for low to high-temperature ferrous, non-ferrous and alloy metals.
- Uniform cooling of casting can be produced for directional solidification using chills, padding and proper casting design.
- High-volume production is possible if the sand mould-making process is automated.
- Weight reduction of casting is possible through design and homogenous strong sound casting can be produced.
- It is a cost-effective process for bigger quantities of casting especially when the green sand moulding process is employed.
- Various design elements such as internal cavities and passageway sections (using core), ribs, and thin to thick sections can be manufactured using this process.
- The casting process is comparatively very cheap compared to other casting processes for producing simple-shaped casting in small batches.
- Thick section casting with complex shape sand casting with internal passages, holes, and cavities can be manufactured.
- Low-cost patterns can be made from wood, rubber, wax and form. Flexibility in producing accurate patterns using 3D printing technology.
- Large-size casting can be produced using pit moulding, dry sand casting process and skin-dry casting process as there are no limitations over the size of the mould cavity that can be produced.
- 85% of the sand used in mould-making can be reused using backing sand.
- Possible to make the smallest casting using a single-piece pattern to large-size casting using a cope and drag pattern. Multiple small green castings can be manufactured using a match plate pattern.
- Turbulence in mould cavities can be reduced by making small cavities and supplying controlled molten metal into the cavity using a gated pattern.
- Sand packing can be done with a machine to make the process more accurate.
- This process provides flexibility in using patterns of various pattern materials from wood, plastic, foam, rubber, wax and metal.
- Green sand, silicate sand, and sodium silicate can be used to make sand moulds. Of these three sand types, green sand has the highest recyclability rate.
- The proven casting process has for centuries had a smaller lead time, and lead time can be reduced through automation in the foundry.
- Moisture content in the sand can vary to form green, dry, and skin-dried moulds that can produce castings of different shapes and complexity. Using these moulds casting from small to larger dimensions is possible in small volumes.
- Rotating tables can be used to make green sand moulds in one production cycle reducing dependency on skilled operators.
- Sand casting produces heavy-weight casting products as compared to die casting, investment casting, slush casting, squeeze casting and shell casting.
- No external pressure is required in this process, gravity is sufficient to allow molten metal to pass from the pouring basin to the mould cavity and provide a riser to feed the mould cavity during shrinkage.
- Simple tools and inexpensive equipment are required for the sand moulding process.
- The mould is environmentally friendly and made of sand.
- Small to large parts of any size and weight can be manufactured.
Apart from the advantages, sand casting has many disadvantages. Engineers can read the sand casting disadvantages article.