{"id":163901,"date":"2021-09-11T16:56:30","date_gmt":"2021-09-11T08:56:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/facfox.com\/docs\/?post_type=kb&p=163901"},"modified":"2021-10-14T17:26:49","modified_gmt":"2021-10-14T09:26:49","slug":"how-3d-printing-is-changing-sand-casting","status":"publish","type":"kb","link":"https:\/\/facfox.com\/docs\/kb\/how-3d-printing-is-changing-sand-casting","title":{"rendered":"How 3D printing is changing sand casting?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
A machine operator cleans sand from a 3D-printed core. Hoosier Pattern<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Humans began pouring the first sand castings approximately three millennia ago. And until recently, that technology has remained virtually unchanged (see Figure 1<\/strong>):<\/p>\n

\u2022 A replica, or \u201cpattern,\u201d of the desired object is placed in an open-ended, steel molding box.<\/p>\n

\u2022 A special type of sand is poured around the pattern, which is pounded firmly into place and then removed.<\/p>\n

\u2022 A sprue is cut to allow molten metal to flow into the mold, along with a gate that joins the sprue to the mold cavity.<\/p>\n

\u2022 A core is used to replicate parts having internal features.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Molten metal is poured into the mold; when the metal cools, the completed part is removed.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s sand casting in a nutshell, although journeyman patternmaker Dave Rittmeyer will tell you there\u2019s far more to it than that. Rittmeyer, the customer care and additive manufacturing manager at Hoosier Pattern Inc.<\/a>, Decatur, Ind., also will tell you the industry has undergone a dramatic shift over the past decade or so, thanks in part to AM.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s eliminated much of the tedium of the sand casting process while making the process faster, more flexible, and significantly more cost-competitive than other casting methods.<\/p>\n

\u201cLead times with traditional patternmaking processes are best measured in weeks and months,\u201d Rittmeyer said. \u201c3D printing has drastically shortened that, sometimes to just a day or two. In one example, we tooled up for a crane case in three weeks. That normally would have taken us 14 weeks. We\u2019re also able to print very complex molds and cores that would otherwise have been impractical to manufacture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jetting Success<\/h2>\n

In 1993, researchers at MIT invented a 3D printing process called binder jet. Three years after that the company now known as ExOne Inc. took the binder jet ball and ran with it, changing the sand casting industry forever.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Figure 1: Most sand castings are made from a two-piece pattern set in a steel mold box. The mold box comprises two nearly identical, open-ended boxes (drag and cope) held together by pins. what-when-how<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It developed a cold-hardening binder system that deposits sand in layers 0.26 to 0.38 mm thick, then binds selective areas with a liquid polymer that solidifies the sand.<\/p>\n

Hoosier was founded in 1997 by three journeyman patternmakers who operated a couple of CNC machines. They bought their first sand printer\u2014an ExOne S-Max\u2014in 2013.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday we have more than 25 machining centers and four S-Max sand printers, and roughly half of our business is 3D-printed sand cores and molds,\u201d said Rittmeyer. \u201cI don\u2019t have an exact figure, but we literally print thousands and thousands of each annually.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Indiana company also operates a Stratasys Fortus 450mc FDM machine and a 3ntr A2 for building prototypes, low-volume patterns, and various tooling for around the shop.<\/p>\n

3D printing has transformed the company from a regional pattern shop to a global one. Hoosier Pattern now ships 3D-printed sand products \u201call over the world,\u201d said Rittmeyer.<\/p>\n

Higher volumes and relatively simple tooling are still produced using traditional manufacturing methods\u2014milling, turning, and EDM\u2014while everything else is sent to one of the company\u2019s 3D printers. But the balance is steadily shifting to printing.<\/p>\n

Said Rittmeyer, \u201cFor one piece, or even a hundred pieces, the [printer] usually is the way to go\u2014although we do have one print job that calls for 2,200 parts a year, and just this morning the customer called to see if we can double that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Made in Montrose<\/h2>\n

Craft Pattern and Mold Inc.<\/a>, Montrose, Minn., is enjoying similar additive success. The company had been buying 3D-printed molds from Hoosier Pattern but, about a year ago, decided to invest in its own system.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were several reasons for it,\u201d said company President Tony Cremers. \u201cHoosier was doing a great job for us, but when you\u2019re spending a certain amount each month on outside services, at some point it makes more sense to bring that work in-house.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe other part is lead time. No matter how good the supplier, having your own printing capabilities determines how quickly you can respond to your customer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
3D printing has drastically altered the sand casting design process, giving engineers greater flexibility and the \u201cability to ignore some of the basic principles of sand casting.\u201d Hoosier Pattern<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Craft Pattern started 35 years ago as a production pattern shop. It slowly expanded into prototyping and product development work then began pouring small quantities of parts. It has since added 4- and 5-axis machining services, plastic injection molding, and other capabilities.<\/p>\n

Adding sand printing made sense. Adopting the technology, however, required Craft Pattern to learn some things about the technology.<\/p>\n

For instance, the surface finish on a 3D-printed mold generally is not as good as one made from a pattern, said the shop\u2019s general manager, Steve Shade. \u201cWe\u2019ve also had to adjust our workflow and rethink some of our design practices. 3D printing affords us the ability to ignore some of the basic principles of sand casting, allowing for draft, parting, and coring configurations that simply aren\u2019t feasible using traditional tooling.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur designers are no longer bound by the rules they\u2019ve been trained to follow and worked with their entire career, which completely changes how we approach a project.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because of this, and other factors such as not having to physically build tooling, the timeline for delivering a cast metal part is drastically reduced.<\/p>\n

He noted, though, that the \u201creal elephant in the room is cost.\u201d Whether it\u2019s made of metal, plastic, or sand, anything that\u2019s 3D-printed is generally going to be more expensive. \u201cSo you can\u2019t just say, \u2018Let\u2019s print everything,\u2019 because it\u2019s not yet competitive from a total-cost-of-acquisition standpoint.\u201d<\/p>\n

With traditional tooling, the cost of patterns and core boxes can be amortized, allowing for a relatively rapid reduction in per-part cost as volumes climb. With 3D printing, on the other hand, the cost per part is fairly fixed according to the volume of printed sand, so the economies of scale do not yet apply.<\/p>\n

\u201cStill, if you\u2019re looking for a few pieces tomorrow or have parts with very complex geometries, 3D printing is the answer,\u201d said Shade.<\/p>\n

Cremers agreed. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely made us much more flexible,\u201d he said, adding that the shop can shift directions quickly, even turning parts around the next day. And \u201cit\u2019s made a huge improvement to our core manufacturing. Where before we might have made five or 10 separate cores and then glued them together, we can now print them all as a single piece. Between the labor savings, the part quality, and just the overall process control, it\u2019s a significant advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
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Humans began pouring the first sand castings approximately three millennia ago. And until recently, that technology has remained virtually unchanged (see Figure 1): \u2022 A replica, or \u201cpattern,\u201d of the desired object is placed in an open-ended, steel molding box. \u2022 A special type of sand is poured around the pattern, which is pounded firmly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":163903,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"kbtopic":[45],"kbtag":[126,119],"class_list":["post-163901","kb","type-kb","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","kbtopic-tech","kbtag-3d-printing","kbtag-casting"],"yoast_head":"\nHow 3D printing is changing sand casting? - FacFox Docs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Humans began pouring the first sand castings approximately three millennia ago. 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