It sounds damn interesting, for sure. Maybe like PM it will eventually work it's way to the aftermarket?

Rich

 

Two different shops I work at, one as engine machinist, the other as a prototype machinist.

 

If you build it in thin layers that would give you more flexiabilty on the shape.

The patterns I had seen were solid hunks of foam in the finished shape.

I guess I should read the links.

Z28

 

Interesting concept.

 

Their system is much more advanced than anything I had seen. There are lesser systems of lost foam that do not depend 100% on the refactory coating.

Their system looks ideal for what they are doing.

I don't think there will be many small foundrys that set up a 450kw real time X-Ray sytem to monitor mold filling.

If that is what is required to make this system work right, no wonder the foundry I worked for failed to get the system going.

Would be interesting to see if you could take a preformed foam sheet and CNC mill out sections and then glue them together, coat with ceramic slurry and pour an engine head.

Might be viable for small production runs.

There are a lot of casting systems that are used that people have never heard of. Such as lost ice molding, lost mercury molding, vacuum sand molding, inkjet type ceramic mold printing, to name a few.

Hard to find a new idea in foundry, kinda like car tech, all done before in varying degrees.

Old time foundrymen used to have to pass a test with green sand. They had to cast a saucer, cup, and spoon in one piece. Starting with nothing but damp green sand and a saucer, cup, and spoon. A task like that makes sand castles look pretty easy. A lot of art in many fields is being lost. Now you would have to go to China to see something like that done.

The American Foundrymen's Society in Chicago had some exibits of the cup,spoon and saucer, and other foundry examples.

Hard to remember that all metal starts as a casting, even billet, before it is rolled. Welding is simply a linear casting with chills on it.

Some glassy metals are never cast, depening on how you define the term.

Not much of a future in mfg casting in the USA anymore. China is cheaper, you can bet they are studying lost foam carefully.

Z28

Z28