As a UK industry leader in high-precision sand casting manufacturing, it’s absolutely crucial that “we take sand seriously” and continue to explore new advancements in sand casting technology, enabling us to push beyond the boundaries and help shape the future.
We are fully committed to investing in the latest technologically advanced plant equipment and pioneering the innovation of complex mould-making, sand media optimisation, material optimisation and sand casting manufacturing.
During 2022, we have made significant investments into our new purpose-built foundry and sand plant technology, including the latest robotically controlled foundry equipment and thermal sand reclamation plant from Omega Sinto, the world’s leading foundry plant and equipment supplier. These exciting new developments are currently being installed and are due for completion in November 2022.
Investing in this technologically advanced plant equipment enables us to produce large complex mould assemblies and castings, thermally reclaim and produce superior quality sand, improve surface finishes, optimise our sand casting process and scale production.
Manufacturing large lightweight castings up to 2m2 with a minimum wall thickness of 2.5mm, linear cast tolerance of DCTG 7 and surface finishes of 4RA.
We are now manufacturing large lightweight castings up to 2m2 with a minimum wall thickness of 2.5mm, linear cast tolerance of DCTG 7 and surface finishes of 4RA, which closely emulates tolerances of pressure die-casting.
The new thermal sand reclamation plant will significantly reduce our carbon footprint and become more environmentally friendly. We can now reclaim up to 95% of the sand we use in our foundry, removing the need for regular sand deliveries to and from the foundry and reducing the need to dispose of used sand.
Turbo-Charging the Future with 3D Sand Printing Technology
In addition, we have also invested in our state-of-the-art 3D sand printing centre with the latest additive 3D sand printer from voxeljet, a global innovator and technology driver for advanced 3D printing systems. Using the latest 3D sand printing technology on-site gives us the flexibility to print a wide range of thermally efficient sand media, enhancing casting design, surface finish and casting tolerance.
Utilising 3D sand printing technology allows us to rapidly produce highly complex moulds and cores in volume, and combine multiple traditional cores into one printed piece, allowing for greater repeatability, improved accuracy and the ability to cast extremely complex shapes.
Extremely complex design structures can now be simply manufactured at a significantly reduced cost, compared to other casting manufacturing processes such as lost wax investment. We now have the capacity to produce highly complex castings within 24 hours from final MAGMA simulation validation.
3D sand printing will also reduce the need for conventional foundry tooling and significantly reduce our carbon footprint due to the costly and unsustainable way polyurethane resin is currently recycled.
During September 2022, we met up with David Edwards (Omega Sinto) and Cameron Coyle (voxeljet) for Q&A sessions about the latest equipment installed at Finecast, how it will benefit us and our customers, technological advances in the field and their thoughts on the future of sand casting manufacturing and additive 3D sand printing.
Q&A’s – David Edwards from Omega Sinto
Thermal Reclamation Plant installed at Finecast
Q. What new Omega Sinto foundry equipment/systems have been installed at Finecast?
A. Finecast have invested in a range of equipment and systems from Omega Sinto, including a Thermal Reclamation Plant, 15tph Articulated Mixer, Mixer Hopper, 3 x 40 Tonne Capacity Hoppers, Pneumatic Sand Distribution Systems facilitating all mixers and sand distribution to all hoppers, Thermal Dust Extraction Unit and Water Cooling System.
Q. How does the new Omega Sinto foundry equipment/systems work?
A. The thermal works by fluidising sand through a 780ºc chamber, removing all spurious materials. The sand mixer works by introducing sand and resin and catalyst mixture in proportions to create a mould. Pressure vessels work by compressed air entering the vessels that are full of sand, to be conveyed along suitable pipework / extraction systems.
Q. What are the main advantages/benefits for Finecast?
A. The new foundry equipment and thermal reclamation system will bring a wealth of advantages and benefits to Finecast, including cost reduction on procurement of new sand, cost reduction as a consequence of much reduced tipping costs and better quality castings. Along with the industry and customer knowledge that Finecast are prepared to put a considerable investment in new equipment to satisfy their requirements not only in quality but delivery schedules.
Finecast have also invested in omega connect, this enables immediate diagnosis remotely from Omega Sinto of any breakdown that may occur, ensuring that the plant is giving optimum performance almost continuously.
Q. What are the main advantages/benefits for our customers?
A. The larger 15 tph mixer will enable larger moulds to be manufactured to satisfy customer requirements, this mixer is of course articulated with a large 180* radius enabling more moulds to be made, enabling curing time of the mould not interfering with the making of the next mould.
This mixer will potentially give the customer 4 new moulding stations for their much anticipated new portfolio of casings.
Q. What new capabilities does the new Omega Sinto foundry equipment/systems provide?
A. Greater reclamation capabilities reducing new sand deliveries and tipping cost, it will be also recognised the sand quality will be improved by making the sand more spheroidal reducing the catalyst and resin consumption, loss of ignition will improve along with surface finish on the castings.
Q. What makes you the industry leader and better than your competitors?
A. Omega Sinto, was of course omega which in turn has procured Richards Engineering, FTL Engineering and many other small foundry related businesses, which are all now under the same banner with all of the unprecedented expertise that has come with these associations. To this end it was recognised by Sinto, a Japanese foundry monolith that omega would be a superb addition to their portfolio of very prestigious companies.
Quite literally unprecedented in its capabilities and world wide support.
Q&A’s – Cameron Coyle from voxeljet
Bartłomiej Napora (Technical Director, Finecast), David Gratton (Managing Director, Finecast), Cameron Coyle (Sales Manager, voxeljet), Ingo Ederer (CEO, voxeljet)
David and Bartłomiej visit voxeljets machine assembly facility in Augsburg, Germany
Q. What voxeljet additive 3D printer is being installed at Finecast?
The VX1000-S 3D Printer will be installed. This is a smart version of our standard VX1000 machine which offers faster printing speeds for it’s 300 litre build platform.
Q. What advantages/benefits do voxeljet additive 3D printers have over other additive 3D printers?
Our VX1000-S System’s speed along with the available build space makes it possible to print both cores and moulds quickly, perfectly suited for prototype projects OR series production of cores. voxeljet printers are open-source systems which means customers can source their own sands directly (special sands).
Industrial inkjet printheads offer a great print resolution and quality.
Q. How does the new voxeljet additive 3D printer work?
A. Our technology is Binder jetting which is a process whereby a particulate material is deposited onto a build space, in this case in a 0.3mm layer. Once the particulate is deposited, we pass a print head over the build area to selectively dose a binder where you would like to create your part. This process is repeated until you have a final 3D part. The layering process makes it possible to 3D print complex shapes which otherwise would not be possible with traditional methods.
Q. What are the benefits of additive 3D printed sand moulds and cores?
A. Speed, complexity and cost. Overall 3D printing allows you to quickly produce moulds and cores, and in a lower volume scenario, is often more cost effective than a traditional approach as it is achieved without a need for tooling. Complex cores can be manufactured in volume to combine multiple “traditional cores” into one printed piece introducing greater repeatability, improved accuracy and possibility to cast complex shapes.
Q. What new capabilities does the new voxeljet additive 3D printer have?
A. The VX1000-S is capable of printing its 300 litre build box in less than 8 hours with the ability to change between silica or cerabead sands depending on the desired material in relation to the casting requirements. Larger print volumes can be achieved by assembling single parts to a larger one.
Q. What benefits will the new voxeljet additive 3D printer bring to Finecast?
A. Having a machine on site will support Finecast with greater manufacturing flexibility and expand the technical offering to your customers. Cost of manufacture combined with the elimination of packaging, transport and customs costs when compared to buying in 3D moulds and cores will allow you to increase your competitive advantage.
Q. What benefits will the new voxeljet additive 3D printer bring to our customers?
A. As a result of an in-house machine your customers will benefit from faster lead times. When compared to buying in 3D sand cores, which takes up to 8 working days after customs + transport, it will be possible to manufacture their moulds & cores within days, if not hours.
Q. What’s next in the future for 3D printing
A. At voxeljet we see an increase in the complexity of castings which are required across multiple industries. This further supports the need for 3D printing which can Act as a key to unlocking the technical Challenges associated with making complex castings. We will continue to work on our binder offering and develop our machines to support the industry shift toward higher volume manufacture using 3D methods.
A big thanks to Omega Sinto & voxeljet
We would like to take this opportunity to thank David Edwards (Omega) and Cameron Coyle (voxeljet) for their expertise, collaboration and contribution to helping us improve and innovate our equipment and processes here at Finecast and we look forward to developing our partnerships in the future.
Choose Finecast for Sand Casting Manufacturing
If you are searching for an industry leading, innovative sand casting manufacturing company look no further than Finecast. Our team of experienced engineers combined with our state-of-the-art facility and technically advanced processes is all you need to bring your idea to reality.
