Small Scale Foundries for Developing Published by: Intermediate ...

patterns, using three or more section moulds
to avoid the need for cores, or sometimes
using templates or sectional patterns to
make uniform mould shapes by hand.
The making of complex castings by hand
moulding requires two or more years of
training; however simple hand moulded
castings can be produced after a few weeks’
experience.
The hand moulder’s tools include a
rammer, shovel, sieve, a fine trowel for cutting
the sand, vent wires, lengths of tube for
cutting pouring holes etc. Dry powder (for
example powdered bone dust) is dusted on
patterns and joint surfaces to stop the
moulding sand sticking and not separating
cleanly.
The moulder must also make the runner
channels in the mould when these are not
part of the pattern equipment. Loose
wooden pieces should be used to mould the
ingates into the casting cavity. The runner
channels and feeders may be cut with a
trowel, or moulded from standard loose
pieces kept with the moulder’s equipment.
A cut sand surface wi!l not be as smooth as a
moulded surface, and even if it is smoothed
with the trowel may entail the risk of producing
sand inclusions in castings.
Machine Moulding
Mechanised casting production needs
moulding machines Moulding machines
may jolt sand into position or squeeze the
sand round the pattern. Both methods are
often combined in one machine.
Most simple squeeze machines are not
useful for moulds in which each half is more
than about 150-200 cm deep although
special high pressure hydraulic machines
have been designed for deeper moulds.
Usually moulding machines are instalied
in pairs, one to make top half mouids and
one to make bottom half moulds. There are
types of moulding machines which can produce
complete moulds on one machine. It is
also possible to use one machine to make
bottom half moulds, and then later to use
the same machine with the other half pattern
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to make the top half moulds.
Moulding machines usually require a
supply of compressed air (e.g. at 6 atmospheres),
although some types operate with
self-contained hydrau!ic pumps and require
only to be connected to an electrical supply.
Small moulds can be made on simple
moulding machines, in which the squeeze
pressure is applied by hand with a long lever,
using neither pneumatic nor hydraulic
power assistance.
Even the simplest moulding machines
provide a mechanised means of stripping the
mould from the pattern and if necessary of
turning the mould over during production.
Although special purpose moulding
machines can be very complex pieces of
equipment, a well equipped workshop
should be able (with some assistance at the
design stage) to produce a simple machine
from structural steel, iron castings, and
hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders and
valves.
One special type of moulding machine is
the sand slinger. Sand slingers contain
impellors with spinning blades to hurl the
sand at high speed into the moulds. Sand
slingers are expensive machines, used for
large castings, and not usually suitable for
small scale foundries.
It is possible to purchase automatic
moulding machines which produce very
high quality moulds at extremely high rates
- several hundred complete moulds per
hour. Such a moulding machine on its own
has no value; it must form part of a complete
mechanised foundry system, including sand
preparation equipment and mould and sand
handling conveyors. The maintenance and
the capital costs of such equipment are high
and are only justified when there is a very
large and assured market for mass production
of castings.
Even simple moulding machines are only
suitable for repetition production of batches
of 20 to 50 or more moulds at a time. A
moulding machine should be regarded as a
labour saving device which is capable of producing
high quality castings with less skill