Qingdao Shengmei Machinery Co.,Ltd
Address: No.6 Wangjialou Industrial Area, Huangdao District, Qingdao City, China
Contact: Sandry Pang
TEL: +86-532-85131608
Moblie: +86-18660248878
Fax: +86-532-86158266
Email: shengmei@shengmeicast.com
LFC casting process is advantageous for that very complex castings would regularly require cores. It is also dimensionally accurate, maintains an excellent surface finish, requires no draft, and has no parting lines so no flash is formed. As compared to investment casting, it is cheaper because it is a simpler process and the foam is cheaper than the wax.
Lost foam metal casting foaming machine manufacture
Process:
First, a pattern is made from polystyrene foam, which can be done by many different ways. For small volume runs the pattern can be hand cut or machined from a solid block of foam; if the geometry is simple enough it can even be cut using a hot-wire foam cutter. If the volume is large, then the pattern can be mass-produced by a process similar to injection molding. Pre-expanded beads of polystyrene are injected into a preheated aluminum mold at low pressure. Steam is then applied to the polystyrene which causes it to expand more to fill the die. The final pattern is approximately 97.5% air and 2.5% polystyrene. Pre-made pouring basins, runners, and risers can be hot glued to the pattern to finish it.
Next, the foam cluster is coated with ceramic investment, also known as the refractory coating, via dipping, brushing, spraying or flow coating. This coating creates a barrier between the smooth foam surface and the coarse sand surface. Secondly it controls permeability, which allows the gas created by the vaporized foam pattern to escape through the coating and into the sand. Controlling permeability is a crucial step to avoid sand erosion. Finally, it forms a barrier so that molten metal does not penetrate or cause sand erosion during pouring. After the coating dries, the cluster is placed into a flask and backed up with un-bonded sand. The sand is then compacted using a vibration table. Once compacted, the mold is ready to be poured. Automatic pouring is commonly used in LFC, as the pouring process is significantly more critical than in conventional foundry practice.[citation needed]
There is no bake-out phase, as for lost-wax. The melt is poured directly into the foam-filled mold, burning out the foam as it pours. As the foam is of low density, the waste gas produced by this is relatively small and can escape through mold permeability, as for the usual outgassing control
Advantages of Lost foam casting moulding machinery
This casting process is advantageous for that very complex castings would regularly require cores.
It is also dimensionally accurate, maintains an excellent surface finish, requires no draft, and has no parting lines so no flash is formed.
As compared to investment casting, it is cheaper because it is a simpler process and the foam is cheaper than the wax.
Risers are not usually required due to the nature of the process; because the molten metal aporizes the foam and the remaining metal into the mold cools more quickly, which results in natural directional solidification.
Foam is easy to manipulate, carve and glue, due to its unique properties.
The flexibility of LFC often allows for consolidating the parts into one integral component; other forming processes would require the production of one or more parts to be assembled.
If you have any enquiry about quotation or cooperation, please feel free to email us at shengmei@shengmeicast.com or use the following enquiry form. Our sales representative will contact you within 24 hours. Thank you for your interest in our products.