A foundry core is fundamentally easy to make. With the right equipment, safety training and a bit of know-how, it can be done in a residential garage. It's amazing what can be achieved with wet sand, a blowtorch and some molten metal. For the hobbyist with no deadlines or production targets to meet, it can be a relaxing and gratifying pastime. If something goes wrong, you can re-use the sand and melt down your mistakes and keep trying until you get the result you are looking for.
If, on the other hand, you are an independent business, there is no time for doing things over until you get it right. If your foundry personnel move on, retire or get sick, you can be up spit creek. When this happens, outsourcing your cores can be the smart move.
There are several types of core-making process. These are warm box, isocure, air set no-bake and shell. Each one has its own strengths. Nearly three quarters of all metal castings are produced using a sand casting process.
In the warm box process, furan is added to the sand as a fixative and heat provides the catalyst. Furan is a simple aromatic hydrocarbon, colorless. With a boiling point close to room temperature, the liquid is highly volatile and flammable. This is another compelling reason to outsource this work. The cores are heated until the exterior of the core is hard. The interior continues to cool once it is removed from the heat. This process is used to make cores with thin walls because they are resistant to being broken down or eroded by the molten metal.
The no-bake air set method is ideal when you have a detailed design and want a small to medium volume. A mixture of plastic and sand is tightly packed around a "positive." This method can produce a casing up to 225 pounds in weight. The air set method is adaptable for a variety of materials, including plastic, non-ferrous metals, fiberglass and styrofoam.
The isocure method is the way to go for speed and economy when making large cores. Here, the sand is mixed with a polyurethane resin. An amine or other catalyst is injected to the box and then purged with superhot air.
Sometimes you need a light casting or a fine finish. Here, the shell process is used. In this process, the casting box is heated and pre-treated sand poured into it. In the absence of a catalyst, the exterior is heated to achieve a thin, hard shell. Another cool thing about this method is the sand inside remains uncured and may be poured out and used again.
Metalsmiths have been using the sand casting process for foundry core production for more than three thousand years. This is how our museums became filled with elaborate artifacts from ancient civilizations. Back then, it was a simpler, slower time. Today, not only is there more pressure to produce and produce quickly, techniques have come a long way in five thousand years. They are not necessarily more complicated but they do incorporate more hazardous materials. These are just a few reasons why oursourcing this work is to be recommended.
If, on the other hand, you are an independent business, there is no time for doing things over until you get it right. If your foundry personnel move on, retire or get sick, you can be up spit creek. When this happens, outsourcing your cores can be the smart move.
There are several types of core-making process. These are warm box, isocure, air set no-bake and shell. Each one has its own strengths. Nearly three quarters of all metal castings are produced using a sand casting process.
In the warm box process, furan is added to the sand as a fixative and heat provides the catalyst. Furan is a simple aromatic hydrocarbon, colorless. With a boiling point close to room temperature, the liquid is highly volatile and flammable. This is another compelling reason to outsource this work. The cores are heated until the exterior of the core is hard. The interior continues to cool once it is removed from the heat. This process is used to make cores with thin walls because they are resistant to being broken down or eroded by the molten metal.
The no-bake air set method is ideal when you have a detailed design and want a small to medium volume. A mixture of plastic and sand is tightly packed around a "positive." This method can produce a casing up to 225 pounds in weight. The air set method is adaptable for a variety of materials, including plastic, non-ferrous metals, fiberglass and styrofoam.
The isocure method is the way to go for speed and economy when making large cores. Here, the sand is mixed with a polyurethane resin. An amine or other catalyst is injected to the box and then purged with superhot air.
Sometimes you need a light casting or a fine finish. Here, the shell process is used. In this process, the casting box is heated and pre-treated sand poured into it. In the absence of a catalyst, the exterior is heated to achieve a thin, hard shell. Another cool thing about this method is the sand inside remains uncured and may be poured out and used again.
Metalsmiths have been using the sand casting process for foundry core production for more than three thousand years. This is how our museums became filled with elaborate artifacts from ancient civilizations. Back then, it was a simpler, slower time. Today, not only is there more pressure to produce and produce quickly, techniques have come a long way in five thousand years. They are not necessarily more complicated but they do incorporate more hazardous materials. These are just a few reasons why oursourcing this work is to be recommended.
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