A Global Leader in the Foundry industry,
serving your needs in Aluminum Iron Bronze Steel Titanium Stainless Steel Exotic Alloys
for our Aerospace Military & Defense Industrial Pump & Valve Cryogenic customers.
A leader in the industry,
serving your needs in aluminum casting iron casting bronze casting steel casting titanium casting stainless steel exotic alloys machining
for our Aerospace Military & Defense Industrial customers.
Manufactured with 100%
Quality, Guaranteed!
We are committed to providing the highest quality metal castings possible. Our team of experts is dedicated to ensuring that every part we produce meets or exceeds our customers’ expectations. We use only the best materials and equipment available to ensure that our castings are of the highest quality. Our quality control processes are second to none, and we are constantly working to improve our processes to ensure that we continue to provide the best possible service to our customers.
Air Set Molding
Our Air Set Molding
The Air Set Molding process is used for extremely large castings with highly complex geometries. Molds are comprised of chemically bonded dry sand and are suitable for complex shapes with multiple center sections.
We take pride in being one of the leading producers of large aluminum castings. The Air Set Molding process allows customers with demanding combinations of size and complexity to attain the desired end product in a single casting.
- Aluminum Alloys include Series 200, 300, 500, and 700 Aluminum
- Casting weights can exceed 7500 lb (3410 kg)
Our Air Set Molding Process
The process often forms a two-part mold made of silica sand mixed with furan and urethane binders, having a top and bottom, termed cope and drag. There are six steps in this process:
- Place a pattern in sand to create the mold
- Incorporate a gating system
- Then the pattern is removed with the channel plug, leaving the mold cavity
- Fill the mold cavity with molten metal
- Allow the metal to cool
- After the metal has solidified and cooled, break away the sand mold and remove the casting
The process requires graded kiln dried sand, which is mechanically mixed with a resin to bind the sand together. A chemical hardener is then added to the sand mix, which reacts with the binder and begins to set the sand into a solid form
Advantages of Our Air Set Molding
Our Air Set Molding process is best suited to larger, heavier, and intricate castings, and the sand used can be kept to a minimum without compromising quality so production costs are reduced.
Some advantages are:
- Parts in 2-5 weeks
- Simulates larger casting parts for appearance and properties
- Low cost tooling allows for ease of geometry modification
- Excellent production method for programs that can’t justify hard tooling
- Superior metallurgical characteristics
We utilize an environmentally friendly binder system that allows us to maximize the benefits that our Air Set Molding process can offer
V-Process Casting
Our V-Process
- Aluminum alloys including Series 200, 300, 500, and 700 Aluminum
- Casting wights can exceed 700 lb (320 kg)
How our v-process works
- A pattern is placed on a hollow carrier plate in advance. We heat a thin plastic film (.003″ to .008″) and place it over the pattern
- When the softened film covers a pattern, a vacuum (200 to 400 mm Hg) draws it tightly around the pattern, which is then surrounded by a flask
- Next, the process uses dry, free-flowing, unbonded sand to fill the special flask set over the film-coated pattern. (*The sand used contains no water or organic binders and is kept under a vacuum during molding.)
- After a second sheet of film is placed on the flask, a vacuum draws out the air, and the completed mold is then stripped from the pattern
- Each half of the mold is made in a similar fashion and then casting is poured directly from the furnace into the closed halves
- The mold is held under vacuum to retain its shape. After the mold cools, the vacuum is released and the sand and completed casting falls free
Advantages of Our v-process casting
- Low Operating Cost
- Zero Draft
- Tight Tolerances
- Fine Surface Finish
The V-Process not only saves the cost of sand binders, but all the cost of sand mixing, testing and disposal/reclamation. Even pattern life is extended because the pattern is only contacted by the plastic; therefore sand doesn’t cause wear. When pattern changes are required, they are easy to alter at a low cost
The V-Process is known for not requiring a draft that reduces weight and machining. This is due to the lubricity of the plastic film which expands slightly when the vacuum is drawn in the flask
The process has high dimensional accuracy, with a tolerance of ±0.010 in for the first inch and ±0.002 in/in thereafter. Cross-sections as small as 0.090 in (2.3 mm) are possible
125-150 RMS is the norm. Cast surface of 200 or better, based on The Aluminum Association of America STD AA-C5-E18
Green Sand Casting
Our Green Sand Casting
The Green Sand Casting (or Sand Casting) is the most commonly used casting process, utilizes expendable sand molds to form complex metal parts that can be made of nearly any alloy, in today’s casting industry.
With Green Sand Casting, its versatility allows A&B’s produce small parts that weigh less than one pound or large parts that weight several tons. These casting parts are high quality and very cost effective
How our Green Sand Casting works
- The Green Sand Casting begins with the creation of a pattern that duplicates the shape of the desired part
- First, sand (often called “silica sand”), water, clay and other composition are placed in a green sand mold. With applying pressure to the mold material, a mold can be compacted around a master pattern. This process utilizes a cope (top half) and drag (bottom half) flask set-up
- The cope and drag are then assembled and enable metal to be poured into it to produce a casting
- The process also uses coring to create cavities inside the casting
- After the casting is poured and has cooled, the sand mold separates along a parting line. The casting can be removed from the mold and the sand is recycled
This process is used for volumes from one to thousands, and for small, simple parts to large, complex shapes. Holes and internal details can be cast using removable sand cores, made from core boxes
Advantages of Our green Sand Casting
The Green Sand Casting enables A&B’s foundry to leverage the cost savings, process efficiency and flexibility of vertical casting technology
The material costs for Green Sand Casting are low and this process is exceptionally flexible. The mold material is also reclaimable, with between 90 and 95% of the sand being recycled, although new sand and additions are required to make up for the discarded loss
Some advantages of Green Sand Casting are:
- Least expensive and most widely used casting process
- Very flexible in shape, size, material and quantity, and even intricate shapes
- Castings can be up to several tons
- Inexpensive tooling costs
- Can be used with most pourable metals and alloys
- Short lead time possible
- Scrap can be recycled
With A&B, anything is possible.
Imagine all the possibilities.
Let's get to work!
CONTACT US
A&B strives to meet and to exceed the industry standards. All of our up-to-date certifications and memberships at prominent associations assure you that we are working along with the latest standards for every sector that we serve.
Let's work together to create something great!
Have a project? We would love to help.
Talk to a member of our Sales team
We’ll help you find the right products and pricing for your business.
Want to take a look at what we do?
Check out a detailed explanation of our foundry process we perform at A&B
Contact Information
Location: 835 N Main Street, Franklin OH 45005
Phone: (937)-412-1900
Fax: (937)-412-2998
Email: ABFSales@ABFoundry.com
Let's work together to create something great!
A&B Foundry & Machining
835 North Main Street
Franklin, OH 45005
Important Links
Sign Up for our NewsLetter
