Recently someone asked how the Aluma Cast process works. “Precision Fine Grain” describes the variation on the sand casting process Aluma Cast uses to achieve high quality sand castings that simulate the die casting process.
We apply a super fine grain sand, almost a powder, that is chemically bonded to construct a tool that looks just like the cast part except that it is built as a positive…a die casting die is, of course, a negative. The tool is also slightly larger than the cast part to allow for material shrinkage during solidification. With this tool we can produce an unlimited number of sand molds into which we pour the molten aluminum or zinc. After casting we break the sand mold away, exposing the resulting casting. Further processing may include heat treatment, machining and coating to end up with a part that looks like a die casting and closely mimics the mechanical and/or physical properties of the eventual die cast product. The part is now a viable representation suitable for design integrity verification. This is the process reduced to its basic components. The process is a science because of its predictable, repeatable and measurable results. It is also an art in that it takes craftsmanship to create consistently high quality parts every time.