Lost Foam Casting
Image shows final location
of defects associated with
trapped foam products at
the end of the filling cycle
Lost foam casting continues to grow in popularity among casting companies because it enables them to produce near-net-shaped components of high complexity with thin walls and other fine-scale features, parts that require fewer gaskets to assemble. And, since there is little need to use binders in the sand, the sand used for their molds can be re-used, saving more money
For the process to be successful there must be a high degree of control. To help casters address some of these difficult problems, FLOW-3D has special modeling capabilities to simulate the lost foam process. With these models, a user can simulate the filling of a lost foam mold as well as the subsequent solidification of the metal. Even more valuable is the feature in FLOW-3D that allows the user to predict where folds or other defects associated with trapped foam products are likely to be located.
Read more in our Casting Tech Papers