Ulla, thanks for joining us today. You want more foundries to explore the green sand process for non-iron applications. Tell us why.
Ulla: We want to challenge the industry mindset that certain castings must be made with the same technologies they’ve always been made with. It can be far more efficient to produce suitable aluminum, steel, brass and other non-iron castings in green sand instead of processes like no-bake or gravity die casting that add cost. And you can achieve excellent casting quality and surface finish too.
In a highly competitive global market, moving to green sand for non-iron parts can give a foundry the edge they need. We’re here to make it happen.
What are the main advantages of the green sand process that you want non-iron casting producers to know about?
The obvious one is the cutting-edge automation that shortens cycle times and removes manual labor. Then there’s low-cost tooling, plus fast and easy core handling, and quick pattern changes. Our solutions are known for very quick, high-volume production but ultra-flexible machines like the DISA MATCH and DISAMATIC C3 suit jobbing foundries with short runs and lower outputs perfectly.
We can also add StrikoWestofen’s aluminum melting and dosing technology – plus their expertise – to provide a complete light metal solution. We have lines running in the US, China and elsewhere with this combination.
What sort of overall cost advantage does DISA green sand give?
We typically see a 15% lower cost per casting by switching to green sand, but it can be 20% or more. More automation also lets you redeploy scarce manpower resources into value-creating work instead of standing on a production line. Reusing sand and long tooling life makes green sand more sustainable too.
And where does the new test foundry come in?
Foundries thinking about green sand for non-ferrous castings will have technical questions and we want to convince them that our equipment can support their requirements. So, the test foundry will cast their existing parts or new parts, run production trials, and physically prove that we can meet their required specifications.
The complete DISA moulding line can validate all parts of the process, from sand composition to pouring and cooling, plus we also offer sand reclaim trials with the SIMPSON Pro-Claim system.
We can test any alloy there, iron or non-iron, and will run our own trials for product development. DISA always pays attention to detail – we want to perfect any customer’s application well before it goes into production.