Advantages of 3D printing sand casting and traditional sand casting

Sand casting is a traditional casting process that uses sand as the main molding material to make a casting pattern. Generally, gravity casting is used for sand, but low-pressure casting and centrifugal casting can also be used when there are special requirements. The adaptability of sand casting is very wide, small parts, large parts, simple parts, complex parts, single parts, large quantities can be used. Because of the high refractoriness of sand casting, materials with high melting points such as copper alloys and ferrous metals are also used in this process.

Rapid casting technology combined with 3D printing additive manufacturing technology, compared with the traditional casting process, it does not need to make wooden molds, mold samples, etc., has the advantages of short manufacturing cycle, low development costs, sand mold / sand core integrated manufacturing and can produce any complex shape castings or prototypes, etc., can achieve the overall complex casting near net forming.
To a complex aluminum alloy casting, for example, by means of 3D printing sand to achieve the rapid casting of the product, has the following outstanding advantages:
(1) short manufacturing cycle. 3D printing technology directly according to the model printing sand block, eliminating the process of mold design and processing, the construction period can be shortened by more than two months;
(2) high process flexibility. In the casting development stage, the need to constantly adjust the casting process, mold modification difficulties. 3D printing in the process improvement stage only need to directly modify the sand data, improve the efficiency of process development;
(3) reduce the difficulty of grouping, improve the casting size accuracy. 3D printing can be part of the traditional fractional sand block overall printing, simplify the sand block grouping scheme, while ensuring the casting size accuracy;
(4) sand type good permeability and collapsibility. The sand mold prepared by using 3D printing technology has high porosity, which is not only easy to clean, but also has good air permeability, which solves the choking defect, and can directly print hollow sand cores to further improve the exhaust capacity.

Rapid casting of complex aluminum alloys using 3D printed sand casting

Stainless steel monolithic casting mixed flow runner using 3D printed sand rapid casting

Compared with the traditional sand-casting process, the introduction of sand 3D printer replaces the traditional mold making, modeling and core making process, which reduces the difficulty of the process and greatly reduces the dependence on the craft level of skilled workers.

Moreover, sand 3D printers can print more complex sand shapes and cores, freeing up design freedom. Because of the direct printing of sand shapes and cores, the casting cycle time is greatly reduced, and equipment and personnel costs are much lower.