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What does pump mean?
A pump is a mechanical device used to force a fluid (liquid or gas) forward in a pipe or hose. They are also used to create pressure by creating suction (partial vacuum), which causes fluids to rise to greater heights.
There are many types of pumps, including:
Positive Displacement Pump - Also known as a constant flow machine because the volume of fluid being displaced remains constant during each operating cycle of the pump. This means that this type of pump produces the same fluid flow at a given speed (rpm) regardless of the discharge pressure. These pumps are further divided into:
Rotary positive displacement pump or rotary pump. They include gear pumps, screw pumps and rotary vane pumps.
Reciprocating positive displacement or reciprocating pumps. They include piston pumps, diaphragm pumps, piston pumps and radial piston pumps.
2. Velocity pumps – These pumps increase the velocity of the fluid they pump and are further classified into axial flow pumps, radial flow pumps and mixed flow pumps.
The aviation and aerospace industry uses intricately designed precision parts that are manufactured with high precision. Aerospace investment castings must also undergo heat treatment and quality testing to ensure performance in critical engine and component applications subjected to extreme heat, corrosion and wear.
The investment casting process provides the precision and repeatability needed to produce dimensionally complex parts for high-performance aircraft and aerospace applications. With a wide range of available casting materials and the flexibility to accommodate rapid prototyping and high-volume runs, it is ideal for aerospace part manufacturing.
Aerospace Investment Casting for Prototype Part Production
For those looking for a quick, low-cost alternative to traditional investment casting, the investment casting process produces fully functional investment cast parts with the same strength and performance as traditional investment cast parts. The rapid prototyping investment casting process uses 3D printed models instead of injection molded parts, reducing lead times and ideal for testing new designs.
Examples of aircraft and aerospace investment castings produced by foundries include:
Landing and braking components
Hydraulic Oil System Components
Actuator Part Valve
shell
impeller
Investment casting can be used to customize a wide variety of metal components for industries such as medical, construction, mining, forestry, automotive, and more. Like other industries, agricultural machinery is one of the main fields of application of investment castings. Investment castings for agricultural applications account for approximately 20% of all investment castings in our investment casting company. This shows the important position of investment castings in the manufacture of agricultural equipment.
We often refer to "agricultural castings" as agricultural wear parts or farming implements. In order to maximize the accuracy of agricultural investment castings, such products are designed and produced in precision investment castings. Importing precision castings from Chinese companies has many advantages such as low cost, convenient delivery, and good quality. All of these factors attract our customers to purchase agricultural parts from our investment foundry. CFS Foundry can provide investment castings in materials with good wear resistance. What's more, we can make farming tools with tungsten brazing or ceramic tiles. We can produce agricultural investment castings for:
tractor
Harvester
planting equipment
sowing equipment
farming equipment
Why is Investment Casting Used in Agricultural Applications?
With the exception of some standard castings, such as teeth and adapters, most investment castings are custom metal parts. So, no matter what kind of agricultural component you are looking for, investment casting is always the ideal method of manufacture. We can make agricultural castings in any shape you like.
Almost all agricultural components must be wear resistant. For investment casting, we can choose metal alloys with good wear and corrosion resistance. The most widely used casting alloy grades are ASTM 4140, ASTM 8630, AISI 1045, etc. In addition, heat treatment also helps to increase the hardness, which in turn increases the wear resistance of the product.
Some agricultural components are brazed with tungsten. For such products, the surfaces to which the tungsten carbide will be brazed must be machined. We can only leave a small processing allowance, which not only saves processing costs but also saves time.
Beryllium copper castings offer many advantages in demanding commercial, industrial and aerospace applications.
Advantages of Beryllium Copper Castings
Beryllium copper castings are not soft at all. When heat-treated, this high-strength alloy provides high thermal and electrical conductivity. Beryllium copper has a higher hardness value than many steels, but has similar or higher thermal conductivity than aluminum. Beryllium copper castings are malleable, easily welded, and very easy to machine. The material is also resistant to non-oxidizing acids and plastic breakdown products.
Beryllium copper cast alloys with 2.0% to 2.75% beryllium have excellent wear resistance, toughness and anti-wear properties. In challenging geometries with thin walls and fine internal channels, beryllium copper is excellent at replicating finer details.
Although beryllium copper exhibits high electrical conductivity, it does not spark and is nonmagnetic. The material meets the requirements of the ATEX Directive and is safe for use in "Ex areas" where hazardous, flammable or combustible vapours, liquids, dust or residues may be present.
Aluminum castings are widely used throughout the marine industry. Aluminum's high weight-to-strength ratio and non-corrosive properties make aluminum castings ideal for marine applications.
Why are aluminum alloys used in marine applications?
Aluminum is a very reactive metal, which means it has the property of oxidizing very quickly. While a weak point for most metals, this quality is actually the key to its ability to resist corrosion. When oxygen is present (in air, soil or water), aluminum reacts immediately to form alumina. This aluminum oxide layer is chemically bonded to the surface and seals the core aluminum to prevent any further reaction. This is quite different from oxidation (corrosion) of steel or iron, where the rust expands and flakes off, constantly exposing new metal to corrosion. Aluminum's oxide film is tough, hard, and instantly renews itself. Therefore, aluminum alloys are widely used in marine applications due to their corrosion resistance.
Why are aluminum castings used in marine applications?
Casting methods for marine aluminum alloys can be gravity die casting, die casting or sand casting. Choose any aluminum casting process according to the structure of the component. For example, for ADC12, a material with very thin wall thickness, die casting is preferred. But if the quantity is not large, in order to save cost, we can also choose gravity casting.
The casting process offers many advantages over other metal forming processes such as forging, welding, stamping, rolling, extrusion, etc. The reasons for the success of the foundry process are:
Due to physical properties, some metals can only be cast because they cannot be reshaped into rods, rods, plates or other shapes.
This is a process that is highly adaptable to mass production requirements. A large number of given castings can be produced quickly.
Certain lightweight aluminum alloys can only be produced as castings due to their respective advantages and disadvantages.
Exhibits excellent load-carrying qualities.
Advantages of Marine Aluminum Castings
Low cost, precision, long life tools
Unit cost savings compared to alternative manufacturing methods
Durable, cleanable finish that can be painted, powder coated or anodized.
Lightweight aluminum alloy with exceptional strength
Ability to cast complex features
excellent corrosion resistance
The difference between gray iron and ductile iron is the type and structure of carbon present in them. Of course, the question is which one is right for your project? Before we look for possible answers, let's examine the differences between gray and ductile iron castings.
main difference
Ductility - Ductility is determined by a greater percentage of elongation under tension. The addition of magnesium to ductile iron means that the graphite is spherical/spheroidal, giving it greater strength and ductility than flake gray iron. For example, 18% elongation can be easily achieved with ASTM A395 and A536 grade 60-40-18 material.
Tensile Strength and Yield Strength - There are definitely differences in the tensile strength and yield strength of gray and ductile iron. Ductile iron has a minimum tensile strength of 60,000 psi and a minimum yield strength of 40,000 psi. There are many grades of gray cast iron according to ASTM A48 standard. While gray cast iron does not have a measurable yield strength, the tensile strength ranges from 20,000 psi – 60,000 psi.
Impact – Impact strength, also known as toughness, is a measure of a metal's ability to resist fracture when it absorbs an impact (collision). Ductile iron is more impact resistant, capable of resisting impacts of at least 7 foot-pounds (compared to 2 pounds for gray iron). This means that while ductile iron can be used in critical applications involving impact, gray iron has limitations that prohibit its use for certain purposes.
Thermal Conductivity - Ductile iron has lower thermal conductivity than gray iron. Specifically, the graphite phase in gray cast iron gives it very high thermal conductivity, since the heat transfer takes place through the graphite flakes. The isolated nodules of graphite in ductile iron greatly reduce its thermal conductivity - in fact it is not much more conductive than steel. As the carbon content increases, the thermal conductivity increases. This means that the lower strength gray iron has a higher thermal conductivity. If the main reason for choosing gray cast iron is thermal conductivity, design engineers need to keep this in mind. Gray cast iron has high thermal conductivity and is an excellent choice for components subject to thermal shock, such as brake drums.
Vibration Damping - Internal friction is the way a material absorbs vibrational energy. Gray iron dampens vibrations more effectively than ductile iron because gray iron exhibits inelastic behavior at very low stresses. Higher damping capacity enhances fatigue resistance because the duration of stress at or above the fatigue limit is reduced. This increased resistance to fatigue is the most beneficial aspect of the higher damping capacity. Another major benefit is the reduction of possible vibration and noise from mechanical parts.
One of the most popular ways to manufacture durable and high-quality components is through casting. Casting allows for a high level of detail, which results in no additional fabrication or assembly being required. While many different materials can be cast, steel and iron are two of the most popular due to their excellent mechanical properties for a wide range of applications.
Cast iron generally refers to gray cast iron, ductile iron and malleable cast iron. It is an iron casting with a carbon content higher than 2%.
Cast steel usually refers to ordinary carbon steel and alloy steel. It is a steel casting with a carbon content of less than 2%.
Therefore, the chemical composition and raw materials of cast iron and cast steel are not much different.
Corrosion resistance
In terms of corrosion, iron has better corrosion resistance than steel. But that doesn't mean that both are immune to corrosion. If left unprotected, both metals will oxidize in the presence of moisture. Eventually, they will break down completely. To prevent this, the coating is recommended for steel and iron castings.
cost
Cast iron is generally less expensive than cast steel because of the lower material costs, energy and labor required to produce the final product. Although raw steel is more expensive, prefabricated steel is also available. These include sheets, rods, rods, pipes and beams.
Castability
Cast iron is relatively easy to cast because it pours easily and doesn't shrink like steel. This fluidity makes cast iron an ideal metal for buildings or ornate ironwork structures such as fences and street furniture.
Advantages and disadvantages of cast iron
Good casting properties of gray cast iron are.. good vibration damping, good wear resistance, good machinability and low notch sensitivity. However, it has low tensile strength and elongation. Therefore, it can only produce some metal parts with low physical requirements. Protective cover, cover, oil pan, hand wheel, shelf, bottom plate, hammer, small handle, base, shelf, box, knife, bed, bearing seat, workbench, wheel, cover plate, pump, valve, pipe, Flywheel, motor block, etc. As for higher grades, gray cast iron can withstand greater loads and some degree of tightness or corrosion resistance. This allows for some of the more important castings such as cylinders, gears, bases, flywheels, beds, cylinder blocks, cylinder liners, pistons, gearboxes, brake wheels, coupling plates, medium pressure valves, etc.
Ductile iron and malleable iron have high strength, ductility and heat resistance and toughness. So it has a wider range of applications and, in some cases, can replace carbon steel. However, its production technology is high. The production process is more complicated. This makes the production cost higher than ordinary gray cast iron and cast steel. Therefore, the casting defects of ductile iron are more. There are many areas where ductile iron is used, such as pressure piping and fittings, automotive applications, agriculture, road and construction applications, and general engineering applications.
Advantages and disadvantages of cast steel
The main advantage of cast steel is design flexibility. Casting designers have the greatest freedom of design choice. This allows complex shapes and hollow section parts.
Cast steel offers the flexibility and greatest variability of metallurgical manufacturing. Different chemical compositions and controls can be selected to suit different requirements of different projects. This provides different heat treatment options across a greater range of mechanical properties and properties. Also provides good weldability and machinability.
Cast steel is an isotropic material that can be made into steel castings with high overall structural strength. This increases the reliability of the project. Combined with design and weight, advantages such as short lead times, price and economy give cast steel a competitive advantage.
Steel castings have a wider range of weights. The weight is extremely small, and precision castings with only a few tens of grams can be invested. The weight of large steel castings can reach several tons, tens of tons or hundreds of tons.
Steel castings can be used in a variety of working conditions. Its mechanical properties are superior to any other cast alloys, as well as various high-alloy steels for special purposes. To withstand high tensile stresses or dynamic loads on components, it is important to consider pressure vessel castings. In low temperature or high temperature, large and important part load key parts should be preferentially used steel castings.
However, the shock absorption, wear resistance and fluidity of cast steel are relatively poor. Compared with cast iron, casting performance is poor. In addition, the cost is higher than ordinary cast iron.
So, when it comes to cast iron and cast steel, they each have pros and cons. One of the two should be selected based on the application and its physical characteristics.
What exactly is the brass casting process? What is the brass casting method? Brass casting is actually an earlier metal thermal processing process. Brass casting process has a history of about 6000 years. Definition of brass casting process: It refers to the processing method of melting solid brass into liquid brass and pouring it into a mold of a specific shape, and then solidifying and forming. In addition to casting brass, copper, iron, aluminum, tin, lead, etc. can also be cast. Common casting mold materials include raw sand, clay, water glass, resin and other auxiliary materials. Special casting molds include: investment casting, evaporation model casting, metal casting, ceramic casting, etc. (original sand includes: quartz sand, magnesia, zircon sand, chromite sand, forsterite sand, cyanide sand, graphite sand, iron sand,
Minimum temperature required for brass casting process
Under normal circumstances, it is 960 ° C, which is about to crystallize. Generally at least 980°C is used, which is the lowest casting temperature. This is high zinc brass, and low zinc brass is higher.
Advantages of the Brass Casting Process
The manufacturing cost is low, the process flexibility is large, and the complex shapes and large castings can be obtained. It occupies a large proportion in machinery manufacturing, such as machine tools accounting for 60-80%, automobiles accounting for 25%, and tractors accounting for 50-60%.
Commonly used brass casting methods
There are generally three brass casting methods that have been proven suitable for brass casting. Metal casters can choose to be tested using different methods and should not limit themselves.
1. Lost wax casting:
Bronze is usually cast in lost wax casting, but can also be used for brass, really for any other metal. By using wax molds covered with ceramic shells, artisans can inject molten alloys in place of wax. Small messy casings will reveal shards of brass. Lost wax casting requires great attention to detail when used. Artists or metal casters who make decorative copper pieces or sculptures find lost wax casting techniques better for their needs than other techniques and methods.
2. Die casting:
Die-cast brass casting is another method. Die casting is often used in commercial foundries because of the low initial start-up costs and poor foundries. By creating a reusable mold made of steel, casters will be able to make products with the same score. If the caster or artist is planning to make multiple products and find a viable market, a mold made of brass should be used.
3. Sand casting:
Sand casting is probably the oldest type of casting and is still a common method, especially for small foundries. Pour the brass into a sand mold to create a unique look that may be the craftsman's first choice. Sand casting is usually the most economical small foundry. If castings aren't incredibly appealing, this approach is much preferable.
Brass casting process
1. Preparation of casting moulds (containers in which liquid metal is made into solid castings). Casting molds can be divided into sand molds, metal molds, ceramic molds, clay molds, graphite molds, etc. according to the materials used. According to the number of uses, they can be divided into disposable molds, semi-permanent molds and permanent molds, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Mold preparation is the main factor affecting the quality of castings;
2. The smelting and pouring of cast metals and cast metals (cast alloys) mainly include various types of cast iron, cast steel and cast non-ferrous metals and alloys;
3. Casting processing and inspection. Casting processing includes removal of casting core and surface foreign matter, removal of pouring risers, relief grinding of burrs and overhangs, as well as heat treatment, shaping, anti-rust treatment and roughing.
The casting process can be divided into three basic parts, namely casting metal preparation, mold preparation and casting processing. Cast metal refers to the metal material used for casting castings in foundry production. It is an alloy composed of metal elements as the main component, and other metal or non-metal elements are added. Traditionally called casting alloys, it mainly includes cast iron, cast steel and cast non-ferrous alloys.
How to improve the hardness of brass castings
Add trace cobalt (0.2%, 0.4%, 0.6%) to aluminum brass (72.5Cu-22.7Zn-3.4Al) to study the effect of trace cobalt, smelting and casting processes and processing parameters on strip machining and rolling properties . Explore the use of aluminum brass to replace the currently widely used elastic copper alloy material. The feasibility study results of tin phosphor bronze show that cobalt can effectively reduce the grain size of the as-cast alloy, change the shape of the grain, improve the tensile strength and hardness of the alloy, and ensure the alloy has better ductility. Aluminum brass 0.4% cobalt is added to it. The brass strip produced by reasonable processing technology has better performance than tin phosphor bronze. The 0.25mm thick strip has a tensile strength of 840.4MPa and an elongation of 2.8%; the Vickers hardness value is 228, and the maximum tensile strength (805MPa) of the QSn6.5-0.1 strip in the hard state of the drill is increased by 4.4%. It meets the requirements of using elastic elements; at the same time, because brass contains 22.7% zinc, it can effectively reduce costs and has practical application value.
Lost wax casting is a process of creating objects ranging from simple to complex in various metals such as gold, silver, brass or bronze by casting original models or patterns.
It is one of the oldest known metal forming techniques, dating back 6,000 years, but it is still widely used to produce jewelry, dentistry and art. Its industrial form, investment casting, is a common method of making precision metal parts in engineering and manufacturing.
While traditionally associated with manual craftsmanship, creators can now transform the lost wax casting process through digital design and 3D printing to streamline workflows, save time, reduce costs and reshape 21st century processes.
The lost wax casting process can vary by industry and application, but generally consists of the following steps. Castings can be made from the wax model itself, called the direct method, or from a replica of the original wax model, called the indirect method. The direct method jumps directly from the first step to the fourth step.
Model making: The artist sculpts the design in wax. The size and complexity of the wax model is limited by the skill of the wax carver, and the capabilities of his casting equipment.
Making the mold: The caster then casts this model and polishes the casting to produce the "master" pattern. Master molds are used to make wax molds out of rubber, which are heated and "vulcanized" around the master mold to make a flexible wax mold.
Making a wax mold: Inject or sometimes pour molten wax into a rubber mold. This can replicate the original design over and over again.
Assembling the wax mold: Add gates to the wax replica and connect them to form a tree-like structure, which provides a path for molten wax to flow out and molten metal to subsequently fill the cavity.
Apply Embedding Material: Dip wax tree in a silica slurry, or place in a flask and surround with liquid embedding plaster.
Burnout: After the embedding material has dried, the flask is placed upside down in a kiln to melt the wax, leaving a negative cavity in the shape of the original model.
Pouring: The investment mold is further heated in the kiln to reduce the temperature difference with the molten metal. The metal is melted and then poured, using gravity or vacuum pressure to pull the metal into the cavity.
Demoulding: Once the molten metal cools slightly, the investment is quenched in water to dissolve the refractory gypsum and release the rough casting. . Gates are cut and recycled, while castings are cleaned to remove signs of the casting process.
Finishing: Filed, ground, machined or sandblasted castings to achieve final geometry and surface finish. When necessary, castings are also heat treated to improve the mechanical properties of the material.
A brief summary of the long history of lost wax casting
It is no exaggeration to say that lost wax casting is as old as civilization itself. Artifacts such as scepters, sculptures and furniture made from lost wax casting have been found as far away as Israel, Vietnam, Nigeria, Nicaragua and the Indus Valley. The oldest known lost wax casting is a talisman created by a society in the Indus Valley, over 6,000 years old.
After centuries of use in the production of sculptural ornaments and textile reliefs, lost wax casting began to be replaced by single-piece molding in 18th century Europe. Part of the process was adapted for investment casting to meet the needs of a growing industry in the 19th century.
In dentistry, the lost wax method is widely used to make gold crowns, inlays and onlays. Therefore, the tradition of lost wax casting is still evident today.
Investment casting is an option for manufacturing complex parts and assemblies. There are several specific steps throughout the process to design and create the required artifacts. It is so named because the workpiece is built around a shelled casting that is removed once the workpiece is poured into the mold and set in place. The investment casting process can refer to the following steps.
Step 1: Create the stencil/pattern
The first step in the process is to create a mold or pattern of the desired workpiece. The pattern is made of wax. It can be poured into a mold using injection molding, hand sculpted with a block of wax, or printed using a 3D printer and the appropriate wax material.
Step 2: Install the wax pattern
Investment casting tools involve creating multiple wax patterns and attaching them to a "door" device. The equipment is where metal or other materials are poured to eventually produce the desired workpiece.
Step 3: Tree Assembly
The tree assembly completes the installation of the wax model on the "door" unit. It's called a tree at this step because each individual wax pattern is essentially a "branch" that becomes a finished workpiece once the process is complete. You may have seen tree components in new board games that require pieces to be removed before use.
Step 4: Shell Molding
Once the tree is assembled, the next step is to add shell castings around it. First, dip the tree in a ceramic slurry. It is then dipped in fine sand plaster. Molded products must be completely dry before use. These two processes can be done multiple times until the mold is thick enough to handle the casting stresses.
Step 5: Wax removal
The wax mold must be removed before pouring the desired material into the newly shelled mold. This is usually done by heating the wax in an oven. Steam can also be used to heat the wax. Hold the mold upside down so that the liquid wax can flow out of it and reuse it to create new wax molds.
Another way to remove wax is to heat the wax so that it "burns" away and removes it completely from the shelled casting.
Step 6: Die Casting
After the wax is removed, the shelled casting will have an open space inside the formal wax mold shape. Pour molten metal or other liquid material into the casting. The material remains in the casting until it cools and solidifies completely.
Step 7: Remove Shell Casting
Use a hammer or other tool to remove the shelled casting until only the original tree remains. Instead of a wax mold, there will now be finished workpieces attached to the tree. After removing the casting, carefully cut the workpiece away from the tree.
Step 8: Finish the operation
Check each workpiece for defects. If any are found, they are discarded and the material recycled. The final step in the investment casting process is to apply different finishing methods to the workpiece. They can be sanded, coated, smoothed, machined, etc. to achieve the desired effect.
Metal parts produced by the lost wax process
Investment casting tools are ideal for high-volume or complex workpieces that require precise detail. The exact steps in the process can and do vary depending on the complexity of the artifact being created.
To learn more about investment casting and whether it is the best solution to manufacture the workpiece you need, contact Laszeray Technology, LLC at 440-582-8430 today!
We offer a wide range of services including product design, rapid prototyping, injection molding, investment casting, CNC machining, secondary and finishing operations, and more!