Experience in Using 3D Sand Printing to Produce Moulds for New and Replacement Cast Components
Speed3D Mold presented its experience of producing moulds and cores by 3D sand printing for new and replacement cast components at the 16th Asian Foundry Congress. The presentation covered replacement components, marine propellers, spherical feeders and helical sprues, using the company’s own project examples.
- Event
- 16th Asian Foundry Congress
- Location
- Muroran, Hokkaido, Japan
- Event dates
- 1–4 December 2023
- Presented by
- Nattinee Valun-Araya, Speed3D Mold
Presentation Overview
The presentation started from a problem familiar to plant and marine operators: a cast component fails, but the part is no longer produced, the pattern no longer exists, or no drawings or CAD data are available. Holding large spare-part stocks or waiting for overseas re-production is often the only conventional answer.
The work presented described producing moulds and cores directly by binder-jet sand printing from digital geometry, removing pattern making from the route to a cast part. Complex cores can be printed in one piece and the mould and core package can be printed together. Selected examples covered replacement components recovered by 3D scanning and CAD construction, new and replacement marine propellers, and feeder and gating geometries — spherical feeders and helical sprues — that become practical once the mould is printed rather than moulded around a pattern.
The text on this page is an original website summary of the company’s own presentation. It is a conference presentation record, not a peer-reviewed paper.
Engineering Topics Presented
Replacement Components
The presentation described cast replacement components where the original part is obsolete, no drawings or CAD data exist, or the lead time through conventional pattern making is unacceptable. Geometry was recovered by 3D scanning and CAD construction, and moulds were produced by binder-jet sand printing.
Replacement Casting EngineeringMarine Propellers
Propeller cases were presented in nickel aluminium bronze (C95800), covering a re-designed ferry propeller and a patrol-vessel propeller recovered without original CAD data, both cast from printed sand moulds.
Aluminium Bronze Propellers PublicationSpherical Feeders
Spherical feeder trials were presented as feeder geometry that is practical to produce when the mould is printed, discussed in relation to casting yield and reduced mould height.
Spherical-Shaped Feeders PublicationHelical Sprues
Helical down-sprues were presented as a gating approach enabled by printed moulds, with trials in A356 aluminium alloy, C95800 nickel aluminium bronze and C92200 tin bronze aimed at reducing filling turbulence and entrained oxide films.
Helical Sprues PublicationSelected Presentation Examples
Three examples from the presentation are shown below. Figures quoted are those reported for each individual example on its own comparison basis, and are not general performance claims.
Impeller in a 20-Year-Old Vertical Pump
A cracked and corrosion-damaged impeller of 1,270 mm diameter and 900 kg in C95300 aluminium bronze had to fit the original pump body and was urgently required as a cast part within four weeks. Geometry was recovered by 3D scanning and CAD construction, and the mould was produced by binder-jet sand printing. The outcomes stated for this example were time reduced by half compared with the conventional method, cost reduced 40% and good run-in dynamic balancing; these figures are reported for this particular case and its stated comparison basis.
Pump Replacement CastingHelical Sprue Development for a Double Suction Impeller
A double suction impeller of 520 mm diameter and 220 kg in ASTM C95800 showed a defect at the bottom area, with the sprue and runner velocity reported at 1.5 m/s in casting simulation. The helix sprue shape was changed to add more turns, and the velocity reported after the change was 0.88 m/s for this example.
Casting SimulationSpherical Feeder Trials
Spherical feeders were trialled to exploit the geometric freedom of printed moulds, with the aim of improving casting yield and reducing mould height. Casting yields of 54.6% (C95800, 800 mm, 71 kg part) and 63.4% (FCD450, 490 mm, 161 kg part) were reported for those individual trials, together with reported reductions in printed sand volume.
Spherical-Shaped Feeders PublicationPresentation Record & Evidence
- Presentation title
- Experience in Using 3D Sand Printing to Produce Moulds for New and Replacement Cast Components
- Content type
- Conference Presentation
- Supporting document
- Certificate of Recognition
- Event
- 16th Asian Foundry Congress
- Location
- Muroran, Hokkaido, Japan
- Event dates
- 1–4 December 2023 (event dates, not the presentation date)
- Presenter / certificate recipient
- Nattinee Valun-Araya
- Authors listed on the certificate
- John Thomas Harry Pearce (Chiang Mai University), Nattinee Valun-Araya (Speed 3D Mold Co. Ltd.), Otis Chantrarasukkasem (Speed 3D Mold Co. Ltd.), Sankum Nusen (Chiang Mai University)
- Authors listed in the presentation
- J.T.H. Pearce, N. Valun-araya and O. Chantarasukkasem
The Certificate of Recognition records that the named presentation was given at the 16th Asian Foundry Congress. It is not a competitive or best-paper award, a company certification, a peer-reviewed publication, or an endorsement of Speed3D Mold by the congress organiser or Chiang Mai University.
The author list on the certificate and the author list on the presentation title slide differ in naming and spelling; both are reproduced above exactly as they appear in their own source. Being named as an author does not mean each author presented at the event.
The presentation file itself is not published on this website.
Related Engineering Resources
The capabilities and publications below cover related subject matter. They are separate records and were not necessarily derived from this conference presentation.
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