×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

decrease casting cycle time (copper mold)?

decrease casting cycle time (copper mold)?

decrease casting cycle time (copper mold)?

(OP)
Adjusting to the right temps seems to consume most of our aluminum casting cycle time.  The mold must be cooled first after the next part...down to 250c(from 650c).we use an air hose and have tried water.

I have heard about copper molds and the fact that they can reduce cycle times by 20-30%.  Does anyone here use copper molds? Do they actually justify the higher price?

RE: decrease casting cycle time (copper mold)?

Have you tried water cooled molds,i.e have water jackets around the CI molds to cool them faster. Copper with today's prices will certainly be a no no. Also life of copper molds will not be as much as that of steel or CI.

RE: decrease casting cycle time (copper mold)?

We use the water jacket concept in our powder metal dies.  It works well, but at the temperatures you're talking about, I'd recommend a decent sized holding tank with a chiller to cut down your water temp (assuming a re-circulating system...city water where I am isn't cheap).  But then, I used to have a customer who pumped pond water through his cooling jackets and re-circulated it back into the pond.  Although I'm not sure how the cooling rate difference in your molds will affect the microstructure of the parts you're pouring.  That could be an issue with water.

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources