Abstract
Three-dimensional (3D) printing of sand molds and cores has increasingly been used by foundries to produce castings with complex geometries quickly and economically. While the cost has decreased, 3D sand printing remains a relatively costly process. The technology most commonly used to produce 3D printed sand is binder jetting, a process invented in 1993 by researchers at MIT. Selective powder deposition (SPD) is an additive manufacturing technology developed to produce metal parts. In the process, unbound metal and support powders are deposited in a layer-by-layer fashion to produce the desired geometry. The build structure is then sintered or infiltrated to produce a solid metal product. The focus of this research was to determine if selective powder deposition (SPD) could be used to produce 3D printed sand molds and cores. To test this, an iro3d Model-C SPD printer was obtained and modified to print shell sand as the build medium with unbound silica sand as the support medium. The prints were cured in an oven to bind the shell sand structures. Several 3D model parts were produced to evaluate the capabilities of the printer. The structures produced included a resolution test print and horizontally parted molds. Aluminum castings were successfully produced from the molds. The results indicate that SPD can be used to economically create 3D printed sand molds and cores. This paper will detail modifications made to the SPD printer to produce 3D printed sand structures and the results obtained.
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Acknowledgements
This project was funded through NSF REU Site #2051066. The authors gratefully acknowledge the generous technical support provided by Sergey Singov of iro3d.
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Rios, R., Trueba, L. IJMC/FEF Student Research Competition. Inter Metalcast 18, 40–45 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40962-023-01182-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40962-023-01182-8