TIL - Lost Foam Casting

TIL - Lost Foam Casting

So it wasn't really TODAY that I learned, but while I had my truck's engine disassembled, I discovered an interesting pattern on the intake manifold that led me down another internet rabbit hole.

For more information, please visit How much does the lost foam casting equipment.

That looked suspiciously like a styrofoam cooler! Now, I'd heard of lost styrofoam casting before but never really considered how it was done.

Lost styrofoam casting is a process where you make the part you want out of styrofoam, bury it in sand, then pour in molten metal. The metal will melt the styrofoam and take the shape of the part inside the casting sand. There were two things I found surprising. First was seeing the styrofoam pattern on the part. Second was trying to figure out how they formed the part from styrofoam in the first place. The internet showed me how:

Now you know too!

How Does The Lost Foam Process Reduce Costs

Nowadays, the profit of the foundry industry is getting lower and lower. In order to ensure the quality of castings, the caster must consider reducing the cost. Next, InterContinental Editor will help the caster to split the lost foam process cost to see how the lost foam process reduces the cost.

Lost foam casting is especially suitable for castings with multi-parts, multiple cores, complex geometric shapes, and complex cavities that are difficult to complete by ordinary casting. Therefore, the cost comparison should have a high degree, and the cost of a simple iron casting using a cupola and a pile of clay sand cannot be compared with the lost foam casting.

Cost analysis is very simple and can include two aspects, namely cost increase factors and cost reduction factors. The difference between these two factors is the amount of cost increase or decrease after the lost foam casting process is adopted.

Original cost minus EPC cost reduction factor + EPC cost increase factor = EPC cost

1. The cost increase factors of lost foam casting

The cost increase of lost foam casting mainly comes from two aspects: foam model and paint consumption.

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit special coating.

Each ton of casting consumes 3,000 grams of foam type (including the pouring riser). If you produce the foam model yourself, the cost per gram is 0.02 yuan. That is, each ton of foam type consumes 60 yuan; if the foam model is purchased out, it is at most 0.03 to 0.05 yuan per gram. That is, it consumes 90 to 150 yuan per ton of castings. The paints are all self-made, the aggregate price is between 500 and 1,000 yuan, and the amount of other ingredients is less, calculated at 1,000 yuan per ton of dry powder coating, even for thin-walled parts, it can only consume 50-60 kg per ton, that is, no more than 100 yuan.

Therefore, the cost of lost foam casting increases, which can be defined as:

• ① Self-made foam model: about 160 yuan; (changes with the market)
• ② Buy bubble model: about 200-250 yuan (changes with the market)

2. Factors to reduce the cost of lost foam casting

• Dry sand is repeatedly used, no core is required, and the consumption is small, so calculations can be omitted. Compared with cast steel, it can save more than 1.2 tons of molding sand per ton of castings. Compared with cast iron, it can save additional material cost, mold shell firing cost, core making cost, and core iron cost.
• The styling efficiency is obviously improved, no styling workers are needed, and the labor can be saved by more than 40%-60%.
• The cleaning man-hour can be saved by 90%, and the steel casting can save the gas consumption of cutting burrs.
• The yield of molten iron is increased by 10-30%, especially for ductile iron parts, which can be poured without riser.
• Stainless steel, high manganese steel and ductile iron can be solid-solution treated with waste heat, which greatly saves energy consumption.
• Wooden molds are not required for a single product.
• The improvement of casting precision can realize no-processing or micro-processing, which not only reduces the weight of the casting, but also saves the cost of mechanical processing man-hours.

In short, the cost of lost foam is significantly lower than that of traditional processes, which is beyond doubt.

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Minghe Die Casting Company is dedicated to manufacturing and providing quality and high-performance casting parts. Our products range mainly includes thin-wall die casting, hot chamber die casting, cold chamber die casting, and more. Any custom aluminum die casting, magnesium or Zamak/zinc die casting, and other castings requirements are welcome to contact us.

Under the control of ISO9001 and TS 16949, all processes are carried out through hundreds of advanced die casting machines, 5-axis machines, and other facilities, ranging from blasters to ultrasonic washing machines. Minghe not only has advanced equipment but also a professional team of experienced engineers, operators, and inspectors to make the customer's design come true.

Contract manufacturer of die castings. Capabilities include cold chamber aluminum die casting parts from 0.15 lbs. to 6 lbs., quick change set up, and machining. Value-added services include polishing, vibrating, deburring, shot blasting, painting, plating, coating, assembly, and tooling. Materials worked with include alloys such as 360, 380, 383, and 413.

Zinc die casting design assistance/concurrent engineering services. Custom manufacturer of precision zinc die castings. Miniature castings, high pressure die castings, multi-slide mold castings, conventional mold castings, unit die and independent die castings, and cavity sealed castings can be manufactured. Castings can be manufactured in lengths and widths up to 24 in. in +/-0.0005 in. tolerance.

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