Process comparison between sand casting and foamcast
| Stage | Process description | Sand casting | Foamcast |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pattern making | Required | Mfg. of Tool |
| 2 | Core box making | Required | Not Required |
| 3 | Preparing risers & runners | Required | Not Required |
| 4 | Inspection of pattern | Required | Tool Insp. |
| 5 | Pattern molding | Required | Foam Molding |
| 6 | Core making | Required | Not Required |
| 7 | Painting | Required | Not Required |
| 8 | Assembly of mold and core | Required | Ass. Of Risers |
| 9 | Pouring | Required | Required |
| 10 | Knock-out | Required | Not Required |
| 11 | Rejection post Knock-out | Approx 10% | 0% - NO REJECION |
| 12 | Shot blasting of casting | Required | Not Required |
| 13 | Riser cutting | Required | Required |
| 14 | Heat treatment | Required | Required |
| 15 | Shot blasting | Required | Required |
| 16 | Fettling / finishing | Required | 20% of sand casting |
| 17 | Casting finish / quality (visual) Check Ra: | 300 - 600 μin | 16 - 125 μin |
| 18 | Post finish rejection | Approx 2% | 0% - NO REJECION |
| 19 | Check major salvaging | Required | Not Required |
| 20 | Check for minor salvaging | Required | Not Required |
| 21 | Inspection (dimentional /NDT) | Required | Required |
| 22 | Check if salvaging of casting possible | Required | Not Required |
| 23 | Machining | Required | Required |
| 24 | Rejection post machining due to defects | Approx 2% | 0% - NO REJECION |
| 25 | Check if salvaging of casting possible | Required | Not Required |
| 26 | Assembly | Required | Required |
1. From the above Table it is clear that foamcast reduces the number of process stages from 26 to just 12 stages.
2. The saving in these process stages is equivalent to savings of around 25% cost saving over sand casting process for as cast products & over 40% for machined components
