Advantages and disadvantages of sand casting from jccasting's blog

The sand casting process has many advantages, especially investment casting, another popular casting method (to learn more, read our article on investment casting). This section will briefly explore why sand casting is so widespread in the industry, and its shortcomings as a manufacturing method.

The main advantages of using sand casting are as follows:

Sand casting can be used to make parts of almost any size, from triggers to engine blocks - if the correct mold is made, there is no limit to the size of the part required

Sand casting can produce very complex parts if the correct core/gating system is used

The process is highly adaptable and can be implemented in mass production of parts

Almost all types of alloys can be cast as long as they are molten and pourable

Low cost of equipment as it usually only involves sand and reusable patterns

Short lead times for making molds make sand casting ideal for short runs

Sand casting has low set-up costs and cost-effective modifications

The main disadvantages of using sand casting are as follows:

Sand casting creates a high degree of porosity in the metal, resulting in low final part strength

The surface finish of the mold is poor and must be cleaned

Castings have lower dimensional accuracy due to poor surface finish and shrinkage of the metal after cooling

Sand casting does not prevent defects, so cleaning must be done and can be time consuming

Sand castings with low tolerances must undergo some secondary machining

So, while sand casting may be a cheaper alternative to investment casting and can provide more complex shapes, more effort is required to achieve the same precision, finish, and overall part quality.

Application of sand casting

It is difficult to grasp how many different techniques use sand casting. Its versatility as a casting process makes it ideal for almost any complex part, and nearly all modern technologies benefit from this manufacturing process. Below is a list of just a few products manufactured using the sand casting process, showing how wide the range of possible applications is.

Sand casting is used to manufacture the following products:

Various pistons and valves

Blower/Impeller

Cams, Bushings and Bearings

Electronic equipment

Gas/Oil Tank

most hardware

engine block

car parts

Screws, Nuts and Gears

agricultural machinery

medical equipment

mining equipment

and more.

While far less precise than investment casting, sand casting is a low-cost, low-complexity manufacturing process that has repeatedly proven itself to be an integral part of modern manufacturing. If investment casting is too tedious, or if large parts are required, consider implementing sand casting in your production line.