The history of sand casting dates back more than 1000BC and this makes it the oldest of the known casting processes. Over the years since then, a lot of evolution and development has taken place regarding things like material options, process controls, size ranges, detail and accuracy on the parts as well as tolerance capabilities. However, the underlying principles of sand casting have remained the same during all that time. The eventual result of all these developments has been to make it the most versatile casting method. It is also the most popular and most sand casting companies prefer the method because of its relative simplicity. The general idea is create a cavity that is shaped according to the part that you want to make and then pour molten metal into that cavity.
The process derives its name from the fact that the mold that has the cavity where the molten metal is going to be poured in is usually made up of compacted or compressed sand as its main component along with a few other materials like clay which make it possible for the mold to hold its shape. There are many different techniques that can be employed in sand casting to produce parts of practically all designs. This includes parts that need to have internal passageways as well as parts that are very large in size. Once you decide that you want to use sand casting as the main process in the manufacture of your desired product, a good sand casting foundry- such as Gamma Foundries- will help you to make a decision on which specific metal working processes you will employ in order to get the product that you are looking for. Some of the factors that will be taken into consideration when making this decision include the following;
• The design requirements- how simple or complex is the design of the product? Under this, the design engineer will review the dimensional and shaping needs of the product as well as design intricacy and tolerance. In cases where the design is very complex, the design engineer may decide to add more metal working or optimal casting processes in order to achieve the desired results.
• Piece and tooling costs- all factors considered, sand casting is one of the cheapest casting methods but the costs can vary significantly depending on the product that is to be manufactured.
• Volume and manufacturing feasibility - how much of the product do you want? Sand casting is usually a good choice for large manufacturing volumes when you need to manufacture a product on a large scale because it leads to reduced overhead costs. In addition, thanks to the new 3D printing sand casting technology, the whole process can be executed within a much shorter time meaning that you will be able to get even more of the desired product for much less.
About the Company
Gamma Foundries is one of Canada’s leading sand casting companies. The foundry has been in existence since the 1950s and proudly meets the production needs of clients across the globe.