What Is Sand Casting?

The very first known casting process, sand casting, has been tracked back to before 1000 B.C. Material options, process controls, tolerance capabilities, the ability to produce elaborate parts, broad size ranges, these have all come a long way, of course. But the fundamentals of the metals are relatively unchanged. Create a cavity in the shape that you need and then pour the metal into it.
After centuries of development, the result is that sand casting is one of the most versatile, and probably one of the most widely used metal casting method.
The design requirements which include the shaping and dimensional needs, quantity needed, piece and tooling cost and even feasibility to manufacture will dictate which metalworking processes are the most suitable when you are choosing how to manufacture a product.
With sand casting you are able to use techniques that will produce shaped parts of nearly any design, this includes the very large parts and those that also call for internal passageways. The may be better suited metalworking or casting processes for any specific product, based on design intricacy, needed tolerances, volume, lead time or tooling availability etc., but it is expected that a casting in the needed configuration can be made by using the sand process. This decision is left to the design engineer.
The reason we refer to the process as sand casting, is because the mould that contains the cavity into which the metal is poured is made from compacted or compressed sand. And the sand will contain other materials that will encourage it to hold its shape.
Viking Foundry is a foundry that specialises in a wide range of casting products and services in Johannesburg. Founded in 1994, the foundry has become a business of pride, quality and customer commitment. When the company started out, it was with a 250kg Radyne furnace which was not the norm back then but through extreme hard work and perseverance, they are now able to cast up to 6000kg. For more information, visit the Viking Foundry website on www.vfdy.co.za.