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Improving Metal Flow in Lost Foam Casting Through Use of Low Thermal Degradation Hot Melt Adhesives

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Abstract

Lost foam casting minimizes pattern design limitations by using pattern segments and hot melt adhesives to create complex geometries. Defects in cast parts have been shown to be caused by the higher thermal degradation energy densities in hot melt adhesives as compared to polystyrene. A polystyrene-based glue was designed to achieve a lower thermal degradation energy, measured via thermal gravimetric analysis, while maintaining qualitative metrics such as low odor and proper viscosity to avoid stringing during application. Casting trials were performed for multiple developed glue mixtures to assess the melt front velocities at each glue joint. The resulting polystyrene-based glue increased the melt front velocity by 75% at the glue joint compared to a commercial glue. The addition of a wax component increased the melt front velocity further and eliminated stringing upon application.

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Acknowledgements

This paper is based upon a presentation made at the 2023 AFS Metalcasting Congress and published in the AFS Transactions, Vol. 131, pp. 303–308 (2023). This research was funded by Brunswick Corporation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, USA

    Kyle Bieniewicz, Matt Reich, Nick Soraruf, Ashlyn Steer & Paul Sanders

  2. Mercury Marine, Fond du Lac, WI, USA

    Jacob Belke

Authors
  1. Kyle Bieniewicz
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  2. Matt Reich
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  3. Nick Soraruf
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  4. Ashlyn Steer
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  5. Paul Sanders
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  6. Jacob Belke
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Correspondence to Jacob Belke.

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Bieniewicz, K., Reich, M., Soraruf, N. et al. Improving Metal Flow in Lost Foam Casting Through Use of Low Thermal Degradation Hot Melt Adhesives. Inter Metalcast (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40962-024-01331-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40962-024-01331-7

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