Sand Casting
The benefits of sand casting are numerous.For example:
- There are minimal restrictions on the shape, size, and material.
- The process is extremely efficient, and uses dry sand, green sand, or chemically bonded sand.
- Sand casting is a great alternative to die casting because it allows for low- or high-volume production.
Sand casting processes use sand-based molds to create custom designs and complex metal parts. The molds themselves are expendable after production, and the casting process works with nearly any metal alloy.
How Sand Casting Works
The sand casting process is carried out through the following six steps:
- Creating the design pattern. Before creating the mold, our team can help create a reusable pattern. This preform helps plan the mold and product details. The pattern also allows for some thermal contraction during the process.
- Adding metal delivery details to the design. The pattern must match the design specifications and incorporate carefully designed passages to allow molten metal into the mold during later stages. These gating and riser features ensure the alloy can entirely fill the mold before the metal starts to harden and that no complex detailing remains hollow or half-formed. They also drive thermal contraction factors to acceptable loss areas, allow for gas venting, and prevent errors in the actual product portion of the casting.
- Creating the mold. Sand is a refractory material that stays stable at high temperatures—a beneficial property for a molding material. Sand also holds the weight of the alloy but allows for easy breakage after the casting hardens. Manufacturers can also form the sand into highly detailed, nonreactive molds.
- Pouring the casting. Manufacturers use the in-mold metal delivery system to pour molten metal into the mold. The metal fills both the product portion and the gating and risers of the mold.
- Shakeout processes. The molten metal needs to cool and harden for varying periods of time depending on the material, design complexity, and the method of cooling. Once the metal solidifies, operators break the sand mold to remove the finished product.
- Finishing and final steps. During this stage, manufacturers apply all of the finishing steps to get the part ready for delivery or assembly. This includes cutting away the gates, risers, and runners, sand-blasting or grinding the metal to the required degree of smoothness, and any necessary machining.
Advantages and Applications
Advantages of using sand casting include:
- Low costs for equipment and tooling
- Recyclable excess material
- Easy forming of large or complex parts
- Short lead times
- Many material options
Some of the most common applications include the production of components such as:
- Engine blocks
- Engine manifolds
- Gears
- Pulleys
Impro’s Sand Casting and Production Capabilities
Impro’s experience in creating high-end, geometrically complex sand castings from high-grade materials is beyond comparison. With our experienced staff and state-of-the-art facilities, we offer both machine and manual molding operations for resin sand casting. We produce parts in low or high volumes and pour castings ranging from 0.5 kilograms to 20 tons. Our green sand castings range from 0.5–30 kilograms.
Impro’s inspection capabilities are top of the line. We offer on-site testing capabilities such as:
- Spectrographic and manual quantitative analysis
- Metallographic analysis
- Brinell, Rockwell and Vickers hardness inspection
- Mechanical property analysis
- Low and normal temperature impact testing
- Cleanliness inspection
- UT, MT, and RT inspection
We have made significant investments in top-grade inspection and testing equipment to ensure that we provide only the highest quality products. For example:
- Our Speck spectrometer checks 28 chemical elements.
- Our Zeiss metallurgical microscope produces high-resolution images 1,000 times magnified.
- Our Zeiss cleanliness meter determines particle size and quantity to ensure materials meet or exceed the international standard.
- We use GE ultrasonic detectors to discover flaws.
- We use X-ray machines and accelerators that can scan castings with 200 mm maximum wall thickness.
Our services are varied and extensive. We offer material advisory service and development, as well as advice from our technical experts on design and casting. We do 3D CAD drawings, simulations, and component machining. We also offer cavity fill, solidification, tension, and distortion services. We provide assembly, testing and qualification, heat treatment, and surface treatment. From start to finish, we have you covered every step of the way.
Learn More
Impro is dedicated to the quality of our work, and our commitment to excellence ensures the highest customer satisfaction. As a global leader in high-precision, high-complexity, and mission-critical casting and machined components, we strive to meet and exceed the needs of our customers. To learn more about our sand casting services and capabilities or to discuss options for your next project, reach out to the team today.
SAND CASTING 3D ANIMATION
high-end sand castings of complex geometries and high-grade materials
Primary Equipment for Sand Casting
Full-Service Sand Casting
Impro offers one-stop solutions for all your sand casting needs. We provide a full suite of state-of-the-art process technology and equipment throughout our multiple facilities.
Listed below are Impro’s sand casting equipment and process capabilities.
Core Making
- Hot-box core making is used for medium- and high-volume production
- Machines: KC800, KC600, and KC400
- Sand injection pressure: 0.4–0.6 Mpa
- Max. sand core weight: 40 kg
- Cold-box core making is used for medium- and high-volume production
- Machines: 80L Cold-Box Core Making Machine and 450L Cold-Box Core Making Machine
- Max. sand injection pressure: 5 kg
- Max. sand core weight: 500 kg
- Max. size: 1,600 × 1,600 mm
Molding
- Resin-sand process
- Plant 6 owns three resin-sand production lines as well as manual molding machines
- Applicable for medium- and large-sized or small-volume, small-sized parts
- IMF Automatic Molding Line: for large parts or small-volume production
- Automatic molding system (pattern withdrawing, coating and drying system
- 10 molds/hour
- Flask size: 4,200 × 3,200 × 1,000/1,000 mm
- IMF Automatic Molding Line: for medium-sized parts
- Product size: 1,200 × 1,000 × 800 mm
- Current capacity: four molds/hour
- Product weight: 50–1,000 kg
- Product type: ductile iron or gray iron
- IMF Automatic Molding Line: for small parts
- Product size: 1,100 × 800 × 200 mm
- Current capacity: 10 molds/hour
- Product weight: 1–50 kg
- Product type: ductile iron or gray iron
Green sand process
- Plant 7 owns two FBO Automatic Production lines and a Z149 production line
- Produces of medium- and small-sized parts 100 kg
- Processes volumes greater than 1,000 pieces/year
- FBO Automatic Molding Line
- Product size: 610 × 510 × 200 mm
- Current capacity: 60 molds/hour
- Product weight: 0.5–50 kg
- Product type: ductile iron or gray iron
- Capacity utilization: 50%
- Z149 Molding Line
- Product size: 900 × 700 × 300 mm
- Current capacity: 60 molds/hour
- Product weight: 1–100 kg
- Product type: ductile iron or gray iron
Pouring
- Melting furnace volume: 1–6 tons
- Normal ductile iron: GGG35~80
- Normal gray iron: GG15~35
- Heat-resistant ductile iron: SIMO D-5S
- High-strength and -toughness ductile iron: ADI
- Compacted graphite cast iron: 400 (pearlite) and 350 (ferrite)
Heat Treatment
- Relief annealing
- Max. temperature: 700°C
- Size: 7,200 × 2,500 × 1,700 mm
- Max. load: 3,5000 kg
Summary
Impro offers a full range of sand casting solutions. If you would like to know more about our technology and sand casting process capabilities, please contact us today.
Sand Casting Material Capabilities
Ductile Iron
EN-GJS-350-22/LT
EN-GJS-400-18/LT
EN-GJS-400-15
EN-GJS-450-10EN-GJS-500-7
EN-GJS-550-5
EN-GJS-600-3
N-GJS-700-2
EN-GJS-800-2
EN-GJS-SiMO40-6
EN-GJS-XSiMo5.10
S-500-10
Compacted Graphite Iron
GJV450
High SiMo-Ductile Iron
STD-02-0811*
Grey Iron
EN-GJL-250
EN-GJL-300
EN-GJL-350
Austempered Ductile Iron
High Nickel Ductile Iron
Sand Casting Inspection Capabilities
Impro has a full range of inspection capabilities in house, which include:
- Spectrographic and manual quantitative analysis
- Metallographic analysis
- Brinell, Rockwell and Vickers hardness inspection
- Mechanical property analysis
- Low and normal temperature impact testing
- Cleanliness inspection
- UT, MT and RT inspection
Sand Casting Processes Capabilities
Process | Weight Range | Suitability | Process Parameter |
---|---|---|---|
IMF Automatic Resin Sand Molding Line | 20~220 KG | Size range: 100-800 mm, wall thickness above 5 mm | Flask size: 1200x800x500/500 mm; 9 molds/hour |
IMF Automatic Resin Sand Molding Line | 50~300 KG | Suitable for medium and large sized ductile iron, grey iron and CGI products | Flask size: 1600×1200×600/600 mm; 4 molds per hour |
IMF Automatic Resin Sand Molding Line | 1~8 T | Suitable application: V-type and Line Engine cylinder block | Flask size: 4200×3200×1000/1000 mm 5 molds per hour |
Sinto FBO Automatic Green Sand Molding Line | 0.5~20 KG | Suitable for medium-volume and small and medium sized castings | Flask size: 610×508×250/250 mm 80 molds per hour |
IZ149 Molding Line | 1~100 KG | Suitable for various castings from low to high volume | Flask size: 900×700×300/300 mm 60 molds per hour |
Resin Sand Manual Molding, Pit Pouring | 0.5~20 T | Suitable for low-volume castings and prototypes | – 150 molds per hour for the small parts – 45 molds per hour for the large |
Detailed product description for resin sand castings:
- Cylinder Block: All types of inline and “V” type up to 3,200 kg per piece, raw or machined.
- Cylinder Heads: From 40 kg per piece to 300 kg per piece, multi-cored, raw or machined.
- Hydraulic valve bodies
- Gear Box parts
- Other complex cored castings up to x tons
- Machine molding, manual molding
Medium to High Volume Green Sand Casting
Our machine molded castings department manufactures castings with a weight from 0.5 kg to 20 kg
Detailed product description for green sand castings:
Hydraulic valve bodies
Gear Box parts
Planet carrier
Steering knuckles
List other primary products
Other complex cored castings up to 30kg
Machine molding, manual molding
Our services include:
- Material advisory service and development
- Technical advice on design and casting
- 3-D CAD drawings
- Simulations
- Cavity fill, solidification, tension and distortion
- Component machining
- Assembly
- Testing and qualification
Sand Casting Product Description
Manifold
sand-casting
Material: Si-Mo Ductile Iron
Application: Construction Equipment and High-horsepower Engine
Combustor
sand-casting
Material: High Si-Mo ductile iron
Application: Construction Equipment and High-horsepower Engine
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