Lost foam moulding
Lost foam molding is a type of investment casting process that uses foam patterns as a mould. The method takes advantages of the properties of foam to simply and inexpensively form castings that would be difficult or impossible using other casting techniques. FTL has considerable expertise in the design & supply of complete moulding systems from sand supply, compaction, mould handling, shakeout and sand cooling with customers utilising the Replicast® or similar system in the casting process. FTL have developed complex compaction techniques within our compaction tables with variable amplitude and angle of attack ensuring complete pattern filling.
Lost foam moulding is a process using almost exclusively a dry sand moulding system (similar to No-bake) poured with the mould held under a vacuum suitable for medium to large (100ton) complex castings that require some level of core assistance. The advantages of Lost Foam Moulding include:
- Foam is easy to manipulate, carve and glue
- The patterns are accurate representations of the desired casting, and require less finishing work.
- The elimination of cores allows for more complex casting designs, well-controlled wall thickness of castings, and no core-prints. This process also eliminates fins or shifts, core defects and sand mixing.
- The elimination of a parting line means there is no draft and multiple levels of casting are possible. Proper gating and riser placement can be achieved. Forms that are not typically possible with traditional methods can be produced since the mould does not need to be parted to remove a pattern.
- Because the process is much simpler production costs can be much lower.
- The ability to produce an accurate replica of the casting using a foam pattern means machining and drilling can be dramatically reduced thus providing significant cost and weight reductions in the finished casting.
*Replicast® is a registered product of Castings Technology International.
