Cleaning and finishing operations in foundries have become more and more complex due to the increasing variety of impurities. Because of this, greater emphasis is now being placed in the field of metal cleaning and finishing. A wide range of machines and equipment have been developed that make the process of metal cleaning and finishing easier.
The various types of equipment used for cleaning and finishing of metals in foundries serve different purposes, such as cutting, buffing, sealing, grinding, blast cleaning, vibratory cleaning, abrasion, and more.
Cleaning and finishing of castings is integral to every foundry's operation. The type of castings including shape, size, weight, and the production rate, are all crucial factors in selecting a suitable blast cleaning equipment, however, these are not the only considerations. With various molding processes creating thousands of casting types and configurations, there are a large number of arrangements for cooling, sand shakeout, and degating. All of these upstream activities determine the cleaning requirement. Succeeding operations, such as the final use of the casting, may also play a part in the selection process of blast arrangement.
TypesSome of the important types of cleaning & finishing equipment are -
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These cleaning and finishing equipment are used to remove molding materials, risers, fins, ingates and other excess surface metal. These have also found to be useful in clearing holes or passageways; and in removing fused and penetrated sand defects to develop castings for finishing. Cleaning starts at shakeout and precedes finishing tasks. Consumable materials, such as - saw blades, cutting and grinding wheels, abrasive and nonabrasive cleaning systems, and shot & grit have proved to be essential for cleaning and finishing operations.
Advantages
Due to improved equipment, the process of cleaning and finishing of castings has become much easier and simpler. Separating castings from sand molds is now easier and this results in superior quality castings and increased productivity. Shakeout processes comprise separation of molds and sand from flasks, castings from sand, cores from castings, and even shot from shot blasted castings.