Water glass casting

Water glass casting is a common casting process widely used in industrial production. It uses water glass as a binder to combine sand molds with molten metal to produce castings of various shapes. The process steps of water glass casting mainly include several key links such as mold preparation, sand mold preparation, pouring, and cooling. ‌
Mold preparation: This step involves processes such as design, mold making, and drying. Firstly, design the mold structure according to the shape and size requirements of the product, and then use materials such as cast iron, steel, or aluminum alloy to make the mold. After the mold-making is completed, it is necessary to dry the mold to remove internal moisture and prevent the formation of bubbles during the pouring process. ‌
Sand mold preparation: includes steps such as sand material selection, blending, shaping, and drying. Select appropriate sand material (usually quartz sand) for mixing, and then place the mixed sand material into the mold for compaction to obtain the desired sand mold. The sand mold is then dried to improve its strength and fire resistance. ‌
Pouring: involves steps such as melting metal, pouring, and cooling. Select appropriate metal materials according to product requirements and melt them, then pour the melted metal into the sand mold and wait for the metal to cool and solidify. After cooling, remove the casting and perform subsequent treatments, such as removing surface sand particles, adjusting dimensions, etc. ‌
Cooling: is the final step in water glass casting, which cools the casting through natural cooling or water cooling to achieve the required hardness and strength. After cooling is completed, the casting can undergo surface treatment and subsequent processing. ‌
Water glass casting has the following advantages compared to other casting processes:
Low cost: Water glass as a binder has a lower cost and certain feasibility in recycling and reuse, which can reduce production costs. ‌
High strength and fire resistance: Sand molds prepared by water glass casting have high strength and fire resistance, which can achieve high forming accuracy and are suitable for manufacturing castings with complex shapes and precise dimensions. ‌
In addition, in recent years, to find effective ways to improve casting quality without increasing costs, some small and medium-sized enterprises have adopted the CO₂ blowing hardening water glass alkaline phenolic resin sand composite process. This process combines the advantages of water glass sand and alkaline phenolic resin sand and is particularly suitable for steel casting plants that do not have resin sand regeneration equipment but need to produce high-quality castings