Evaluation of Castings Surface Quality Made in 3D Printed Sand Moulds Using 3DP Technology

Abstract

The article presents the process of making castings in sand moulds printed in 3DP technology. The moulds were printed using sands of different graininess – quartz sand FS001 and FS003 of the grain size of 0.28 mm and 0.38 mm, respectively, and synthetic moulding sand FS053, used in the production of cores of low thermal expansion. In total, four series of prints were made, with five moulds in each series. Four types of binder were used: FURAN – a standard binder used in traditional sand casting methods, which does not require baking process, PHENOL – a binder with high heat resistance, ANORGANIK – an inorganic eco-friendly binder, and CHP - a cold-cured phenol. The objective of the research was to assess the casting surface for different combinations of sands and binders. The following alloys were selected for the tests: AlSi 11 aluminum alloy, CuSn10P copper alloy, GJL 250 cast iron and X 5 Cr Ni 18-10 cast steel. The moulds were poured with the alloys and cleaned. Surface roughness tests of castings were executed using the contact method on the Hommel-Etamic T8000 RC profilometer. The results are presented in graphs and summarized in the tabular form. Based on an analysis of the results, it can be concluded that the type of binder and size of sand grains used in the printed moulds have a significant impact on the surface roughness of individual casting alloys.