Rapid Development of 3D Printing
With the development of China's foundry industry, the production of castings has gradually moved towards automation, digitization and greening. Among all kinds of casting processes, the use of casting molds is increasingly frequent, and the requirements of the downstream casting demand industry for the quality and functional structure of castings are changing with each passing day. Based on this, 3D printing technology came into being in the foundry industry.
At present, the understanding of 3D printing technology in the foundry industry is not clear enough. Most people in the industry believe that 3D printing technology can only be used as the exclusive technology of casting R & D institutions. In fact, 3D printing technology has great potential in the actual production of foundry enterprises. At the same time, some people in the foundry industry believe that 3D printing technology will subvert the traditional foundry industry. In fact, this is an exaggeration. Only when 3D printing technology is organically connected with traditional casting technology, can it give full play to the advantages of 3D printing technology to a greater extent. The two complement each other and serve for manufacturing high-quality castings. So, we have a choice to combine 3D printing with ceramic foundry sand.
About 3D Printing Technology
3D printing technology is also known as <Rapid prototype manufacturing (RPM), which was born in the late 1980s, is a rapid prototyping technology based on material stacking method, also known as additive manufacturing. It can be roughly divided into two types in the foundry industry.
The first is 3DP technology and 3D printing technology, at present, it is applied to industrial 3D printing of casting quartz sand, PMMA (acrylic), nylon and other materials.
The second type is SLS technology and selective laser sintering technology. At present, it is applied to industrial 3D printing of PS powder, coated sand, metal powder and other materials.
The above two 3D printing technologies are additive manufacturing technologies, and other additive manufacturing technologies are not described here. The following will focus on the application of 3DP technology - 3D printing technology in the foundry industry.
3D Printing and Ceramic Foundry Sand
3D printing technology is specifically applied to the molding and core making department in the casting process, which is used to rapidly manufacture sand mold / core and omit mold; No sand box is needed for pouring aluminum alloy parts. Low pressure or gravity pouring method is adopted. Sand box is needed for pouring cast iron and steel castings.
Ceramic Foundry Sand, a developed new artificial sand to meet the demand for 3D printing sand molds and cores, has brilliant appearance and good spherical shape. Those 3D printing company who use ceramic foundry sand will take the advantages, such as reducing the amount of resin consumption, high refractoriness and service temperature, optimization of casting results due to high thermal load capacity with simultaneously lower linear thermal expansion.