It is very similar to the lost wax process. They use a very exact Styrofoam
piece that is put in the casting sand. The molten aluminum is poured in the
top of the Styrofoam which melts it away (escapes as a gas), leaving the
casting. Take a look at a Saturn block or transmission case. They have a
light pebble-like surface that mimics the tiny Styrofoam beads that it
replaced.
Saturn was one of the first to commercially use this process. It has the
advantage of lightweight molds, produces near net shape final castings,
require little final machining and is highly repeatable. I understand that
it is also very good for prototype work. (I wanted one for my garage but it
looked a little large and overly expensive to take home from the tour).
Gil in Nashville
-----Original Message-----
From: Randall Young [mailto:ryoung@NAVCOMTECH.COM]
Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2001 4:19 PM
To: shop-talk
Subject: RE: ?Auto Factory Tours?
Styrofoam molds ?!?
Is this was some sort of "lost wax" process where the Styrofoam is a
positive, and there's some sort of negative mold (eg casting sand) formed
around it, then the Styrofoam is melted out ?
Randall
>
> The Saturn tour is very impressive. It is very clean for a manufacturing
> plant. The detail to quality was very high and the ergonomics of the work
> stations was well thought out. The in-house engine and
> transmission casting
> was very state of the art using Styrofoam for the molds.
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